Costly Second Half Drops Toros 66-56 at UC San Diego

La Jolla, CA -- Despite a three-point lead as they went into the break, the Toros were unable to secure a win on the road against the Tritons of UC San Diego as they fell 66-56, dropping their conference record to 1-3 (6-5 overall). A standout from the floor, Barbara Houston nabbed a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Toros while contributing 2 steals defensively.

Only 0:53 into the first half, a Triton foul gave Brittney Blankenship the opportunity to put two on the board for CSUDH and start an offensive push that would last through the entire half.

Rescinding their lead only four times in the first, CSUDH outshot the Tritons in field goal attempts 38-26, keeping the ball in their end for the majority of play.

Tied 23-23 with 2:14 left in the first, a Nikki Boutte jumper from beneath the net, followed closely by a successful Kayla Montalvo attempt from behind the arc, gave the Toros their biggest lead of the night at 28-23. The Triton's Leilani Martin dropped the Toro lead to three with 0:42 left to end the half.

After the break, CSUDH played catch-up as UCSD grabbed the lead and held on throughout the second half. For the first 18 minutes, CSUDH was able to hold the Tritons to a less-than 10-point lead and keep their hopes alive of taking down an undefeated team in the CCAA.

It was the final two minutes that saw UCSD increase its lead to 15 points, again off the hands of Martin with two successful free throws. In the final 0:44, Ashley Johnson and Blankenship were able to incite a rally as they helped decrease the deficit to only 10 points, ending the game at 66-56.

With 13 total points, Blankenship led the Toro offense with great assistance from Houston, who grabbed her first double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Now 6-5 (1-3 CCAA), CSUDH looks to host San Francisco State on January 9th in the Torodome. Tp-off is set at 5:30 pm.

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