TURLOCK -- Entering the final period in front of an energized Stanislaus State crowd during homecoming weekend, the Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team turned a six-point deficit into an 81-71 win over the Warriors to pick up its seventh-straight victory behind a stellar 19-point, 11-assist effort from sophomore point guard
Bryanne Lopez-Wood.
Anela Thomas matched her teammate for game-high scoring honors that included a perfect 7-for-7 effort at the free throw line as CSUDH improved to 11-13 overall and 11-8 in the CCAA.
The Toros shot 48.3% for the game and upped their efficiency on both ends of the floor when they needed it most, draining 57.1% of their shots in a 4th quarter that saw CSUDH outscore Stan State 28-12, and limiting the Warriors to just 11.1% from the field (1-for-9) in that same stretch.
Lopez-Wood's 11 assists contributed to a huge 20 to 8 edge in that category for the Toros, while three more turnovers by Stan State and two more blocks and steals by the Toros spurred a 17 to 3 advantage in fastbreak points and a 38 to 26 edge in points in the paint.
Down six after three periods of play, a triple by
Leilani Abraham opened the 4th quarter scoring, with four-straight points by Thomas knotting the game at 60-all. CSUDH took its first lead of the quarter on a tip-in by Lopez-Wood at the 5:39 mark, with an old-fashioned 3-point play by Thomas pushing CSUDH's lead to 67-63 19 seconds later.
Stan State crept to within 73-70 at the 2:36 mark, only to have the Toros go on an 8-0 run to build an 81-70 lead, the final two points in the spurt courtesy of two Abraham free throws.
Tiara Jones added 10 points and Abraham eight, with Thomas and Jones chipping in six rebounds apiece.
CSUDH withstood the Warriors' challenge despite missing 11 of its 27 attempts from the free throw line.
The Toros, currently in 5th place in the CCAA standings with three games left in the regular season, can clinch a berth in the league postseason tournament with a win on Saturday at UC Merced and losses by Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay, who are tied for 6th place and sit 2.0 games behind CSUDH.
