Jan. 15, 2015
Aggies 70 – Highlanders 61
Thursday night was a night of victory because Brittany Crain exceeded her 30-point plateau with 34 points. Unfortunately, the points were not enough and the outcome for the team was defeat, 70-61, to the UC Davis Aggies.
Women’s basketball traveled Thursday afternoon to face UC Davis. From the first half, UC Davis took the lead. Still, the Highlanders continued to be only three to five points behind and ended the first half with a score of 34-29.
However, going back on the court again for the second half, the Highlanders struggled to tally up points. With eight minutes to go, the Aggies accumulated points through layups and shots, leaving the Highlanders three possessions behind. The Highlanders continued to struggle but with 4:51 remaining in the game, Crain knocked down a three-pointer that enabled the team to be only one possession behind. Still, that is the closest the team got to the Aggies. Sydnee Fipps, the third-leading scorer in the Big West, followed with a three-pointer and consecutive shots soon after. From then on, the Aggies remained in the lead and ended victoriously with a score of 70-61.
UCR welcomed back Annelise Ito, who recently recovered from an injury and missed four consecutive games. Along with Crain, Ito finished as the second lead scorer of the night with 11 points.
Jan. 17, 2015
Rainbow Wahine 69 – Highlanders 58
On Saturday night, the women’s basketball team finished off their second week of Big West play 0-2. The Highlanders faced Hawaii in an intense game as both teams combined for 40 fouls, but UCR came up short, 69-58. UCR was outworked on the boards as the Rainbow Wahine pulled 49 rebounds to their 30.
Going into the first half the Highlanders held their largest lead of the night at 16:53 with a slim score of 3-0. Soon after, they were 10 points behind but were still able to tie once with 11 minutes remaining. However, they ended the first half behind with a score of 30-26.
During the second half, the Highlanders took the lead twice with the help of three-pointers made by Brittany Crain. Crain led the team with 18 points but unfortunately they were not enough to win the game. The Highlanders held the lead, 52-51, but with 6:37 remaining Destiny King, who led Hawaii with 17 points, scored a jumper to push the Rainbow Wahine back in front. From there on UCR struggled offensively. The buzzer rang and Hawaii held the victory with a score of 69-58.
Despite the loss, the game was yet another triumphant night for Crain. The guard’s 18 points enabled her to move up to the sixth slot on the university’s all-time list for a career total of 1,359 points, surpassing the previous record of 1,348 by Tre’ Shonti Nottingham. UCR now heads back home where they will face UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 22.
