Championships Central >>>

No. 9 CSU Bakersfield 55, No. 8 CSUN 52

Box Score | CSUB presser | CSUN presser

HENDERSON, Nev. - Back inside The Dollar Loan Center for the second year in a row, the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, tipped off Tuesday afternoon with No. 9 seed CSU Bakersfield rallying late past eighth-seeded CSUN, 55-52.

In an exact rematch of last year’s 8/9 matchup that served as the first-ever basketball game inside the then-brand-new venue, the Matadors got out to a 9-3 lead by the first media timeout.

CSUB grabbed its first advantage at 17-16 in the second period on a Hennie van Schaik bucket. The lead changes would total six for the quarter, with CSUN taking a 30-29 edge into halftime after Ana Carolina De Jesus’ put-back layup as the final five seconds wound down.

The Matadors came back out and tallied the first six points of the third to stretch their run to 10-0 around the interval. A made jumper by Anaiyah Tu’ua made it 38-31 and forced a ‘Runner timeout with 6:37 to go.

CSUN later went up 49-42 through a left-wing triple by Amundsen on a nice feed from Jordyn Jackson. Amundsen was even fouled, but missed the free throw. The Matadors went cold from there, however, and would not score again for 5:35 until a deep Jackson three with two seconds left after the ‘Runners had already turned things completely around.

CSUB went on a 13-0 run in between those two shots, and regained the lead at 50-49 on Sophia Tougas’ driving layup with 33.3 seconds left. On the ensuing CSUN possession, Grace Hunter came up with the potential game-saving block down low on De Jesus. Moments later as Hunter missed the second of two free throws, van Schaik was first to the rebound and flipped in the game-clincher. The sophomore native of the Netherlands added a pair from the stripe ahead of Jackson’s heave.

Last year’s first-round matchup was also a close one won by CSUB, 63-62, as Vanessa Austin grabbed an offensive rebound and got the put-back to go with 0.8 ticks left in overtime. This season’s meetings were both in February, with the Matadors taking each by single digits, the latter again going to overtime in Bakersfield on Feb. 23.

CSU Bakersfield was led by van Schaik with game bests of a career-high-matching 19 points and three blocked shots to go along with seven rebounds. Tougas added 17 points, going 3-for-5 from three-point territory. Taylor Caldwell, who like van Schaik picked up an All-Big West honorable mention on Monday, contributed 16 points, nine boards, five assists, two steals and a block. No other ‘Runner made a field goal.

Tess Amundsen, a graduate student and back-to-back All-Big West Second Team honoree, provided 14 points for CSUN. A jumper at the 3:29 mark of the second quarter gave the Boise State transfer and fourth-year Matador an even 1,000 career points. De Jesus wound up with a first major college double-double with season bests of 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Jackson was held to a season-low three points.

CSU Bakersfield improves to 7-22 in snapping a nine-game skid, and advances to take on top-seeded first-time regular-season champion UC Irvine in the tournament’s first quarterfinal at noon PT on Wednesday, March 8, with the contest airing on ESPN+ and SiriusXM. CSUN concludes the 2022-23 season at 7-24.
 

No. 10 UC Riverside 63, No. 7 Cal Poly 54

Box Score | UCR presser | CP presser

HENDERSON, Nev. - Tenth-seeded UC Riverside began the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run and downed No. 7 Cal Poly, 63-54, to wrap up day-one action at the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, on Tuesday afternoon inside The Dollar Loan Center.

UCR got a Jordan Webster three-pointer for starters and never trailed in a first quarter that ended in a 13-13 tie. The Mustangs grabbed their first advantage at 15-13 on a Natalia Ackerman bucket. The Highlanders notched the next four points, but four free throws by Cal Poly over the last two minutes sent the teams into the locker rooms tied again at 22-22.

UC Riverside tallied the first four points of the third period and grabbed its biggest lead to that point at 31-25 after Matehya Bryant completed a nifty three-point play. Cal Poly hung around through three-pointers by Annika Shah and Taylor Wu and a three-point play by Sydney Bourland, but the Highlanders countered with back-to-back three-point plays by Bryant again and Webster, and took a 40-37 edge into the final stanza.

UCR produced the first nine points of that fourth, getting yet another three-point play, by Webster, and then converting two Mustang turnovers into buckets, and first-year Cal Poly head coach Shanele Stires called a timeout down 49-37 at the 7:10 mark.

The Mustangs came out of that and got the next seven points, with two free throws and then a steal and subsequent and-one driving layup all by Jazzy Anousinh. That was as close as Cal Poly would get from there.

With brother Justin, a senior guard at UNLV, in the building, Webster finished with a game-high 21 points, reaching double digits for a ninth consecutive contest. It was a sixth 20-point effort on the year for the true junior guard out of Dallas, Texas, who also had four rebounds and three steals. Bryant contributed 16 points and six boards, while Anna Blount came up with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. UCR held a 41-26 advantage on the glass as a team, and made 21 of 30 free throws.

Anousinh had team highs of 11 points and two assists for the Mustangs to go with a pair of steals, with Shah adding 10 points. Ackerman collected nine points and game highs of nine rebounds and three steals. It was a fourth straight game for Cal Poly without Oumou Toure, who like Webster, earned an All-Big West honorable mention on Monday.

The result moves UC Riverside to 6-25 on the year overall as the Highlanders snapped an eight-game losing skid. Cal Poly’s season ends at 10-18. The Mustangs had won both regular-season matchups, including just three days prior, 63-50, in Riverside.

UCR advances to face second-seeded Long Beach State in the quarterfinal round at 6 p.m. PT on Wednesday, March 8, with the game airing on ESPN+ and SiriusXM.