Feb. 14, 2013
Anteaters 58 – Highlanders 56
The UC Riverside women’s basketball team squared off against the UC Irvine Anteaters but fell short, losing 56-58. UCR’s home game against Irvine started the same way many of its home matches start: Natasha Hadley used her size to dominate an undersized opponent and the Highlanders jumped to an early lead thanks to a flowing offense.
In the second half the Highlanders coughed up a lead because of bad ball movement and foul trouble. UCR has dropped back to .500 at 11-11 on the season.
Natasha Hadley scored 13 points and had 9 rebounds while Tre’Shonti Nottingham made 14 points for Riverside. Jennifer Tsuromoto contributed 20 points for the Anteaters.
Hadley and the Highlanders dominated the first half. The ball was dumped into the post for Riverside’s bigs to shoot jumpers and post hooks around Anteater’s Camille Buckley and Methlyn Onogomuho. The strategic plan resulted in Hadley scoring 8 points and Janelle Kearney pitching in 7.
Riverside jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first six and a half minutes when the team went on a 15-5 run. The run was capped off by a Brittany Crain jumper and would eventually push the lead to 13. UCR would end the half up by 10.
The second half was a very different story for the Highlanders, as foul trouble resulted in the lead slowly being chipped away. UCR had a nine-point lead with six minutes left.
Riverside was unable to hold onto the lead as it lost in the final three seconds of the game. Anteater Jennifer Tsurumoto drove in the lane and was fouled. She sank two free throws and the Highlanders were unable to get a shot up before the buzzer. Awful turnovers and poor shooting sealed the late comeback win for the UC Irvine Anteaters.
Feb. 16, 2013
49ers 80 – HIghlanders 66
Fresh off a disappointing loss when Riverside lacked energy and defense down the stretch against Irvine on Thursday night, the Highlanders once again failed and fell to the Long Beach State 49ers 80-66.
The 49ers had four players in double figures while Tre’Shonti Nottingham dropped 25 points to lead the Highlanders. The bench for Riverside only combined for eight points to help aid its starters. It was defense, however, that ailed the struggling Highlanders as they allowed the 49ers to shoot 57.1 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the three-point line. The Highlanders fell below .500 to 11-12, with just four wins in conference play this season.
The 49ers started off the game on fire, jumping out to a 6-point lead to begin the game. The Highlanders managed to tie the game during the first half at 16 before the 49ers went on a 9-2 run to scorch the Highlanders. The 49ers eventually went into halftime with a 8-point lead, 43-35.
The second half was not as kind for the Highlanders as they couldn’t come back from their 8-point deficit. The 49ers managed to quell every rally with a rally of their own, even opening up the half with a 7-2 run. This was the phenomena that plagued the Highlander’s defense the entire game. The 49ers captured a 14 point lead and never looked back and improved their record to 14-11 on the season.
