For 23 minutes, the Cal State Bakersfield women’s basketball team looked like anything but a squad three games from clinching at least a share of its first-ever conference championship. The Roadrunners made up for their lackluster start with a scintillating final 17 minutes to claim a 76-66 win over UC Davis at Recreation Hall.
CSUB trailed by 14 points when Colleen Turnbull’s freethrows made the score 48-34 with 17:06 remaining. The ‘Runners began chipping away at the lead from that point until they finally grabbed a 54-53 lead on a pair of Heather Garay free throws with 7:17 to play.
Davis regained the lead briefly on its next possession; however, it was all CSUB from that point. CSUB expanded its lead to two possessions at 61-56 on a Garay layup two minutes later and kept the Aggies at arm’s length for the balance of the game. The 10-point final was CSUB’s largest lead.
Davis built its advantage in the first half on three major factors. The inside play of forwards Sarah Allen and Colleen Turnbull; the poor free throw shooting of the CCAA's best free throw shooting team; and early foul trouble for Garay, the leading scorer in the nation.
Turnbull and Allen combined for 26 points in the first half. Meanwhile, CSUB hit just 7-of-14 free throws in the period, well below its 74 percent season average. When Garay picked up her second foul less than five minutes into the game, CSUB was in trouble.
When Garay came back to start the second half, the ‘Runners got back in the game. Garay scored 17 of her game-high 23 points in the second half and grabbed nine of her game-high 12 rebounds in the period.
In addition to Garay, junior guard Diane Dittburner also got hot in the second half. Dittburner scored 12 points in the second half, including hitting 9-of-9 from the line. Dittburner hit seven of those free throws in the final two minutes to keep the Aggies at bay.
CSUB improved to 21-4 overall and 17-3 in the CCAA. The ‘Runners remain tied with Cal Poly Pomona for first place after the Broncos beat UC San Diego 96-57 on Saturday.
CSUB concludes its regular-season schedule with a two-game Southern California roadtrip next weekend, beginning at Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday night and concluding Saturday at Cal State L.A.
Runner@csubak.edu