Toros' Second-Half Comeback Falls Short in Dropping 63-49 Decision to UC San Diego
January 3, 2004

Complete Box Score

Carson, CA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills sophomore Tameka Blue (Watsonville, CA/Santa Cruz HS) led the Toros with 14 points, but visiting UC San Diego's Leora Juster scored a game-high 15 points to lead four Tritons in double-figure scoring as UCSD took a 63-49 decision Saturday night at the Torodome.

CSUDH falls to 6-3, 2-2 CCAA, while UCSD improves to 7-2, 3-1 CCAA.

The Tritons jumped to an 8-0 lead before Blue put CSUDH on the scoreboard with a layup at the 16:22 mark. UCSD, behind Leora Juster's 10 first-half points, kept the Toros at arm's length as its lead increased to as much as 26-11 in the first 20-minute frame. A Zipporah Chase (Los Angeles, CA/Carson HS) jumper brought the Toros back to 30-20, but a Juster jumper with :03 sent UCSD into halftime with a 32-20 lead.

CSUDH mounted a comeback after intermission, using seven points each by Blue and Chase to cut the deficit to 36-29. The Toros used that momentum to outscore the Tritons 13-6, knotting the game at 42-42 on a Keesha Aldridge (Aiea, HI/Aiea HS) jumper with 7:23 remaining in the game. UC San Diego, however, would score the next seven points to regain the lead and momentum. A Blue three-pointer brought the Toros to within four at 53-49, but the Tritons would use a jumper and eight foul shots down the stretch to put the game away, taking the 63-49 decision.

Chase and Lindsay Peloza (Alisa Viejo, CA/Saddleback JC) each added nine points for the Toros while Chase tied for game-high rebound honors with nine boards.

For UCSD, Kim Buffum's 13, Margaret Johnson's 12 and Katie McGann's 10 points rounded out the Triton double-figure scorers, while McGann's nine boards tied for game-high honors.

The visitors used a decisive 17-7 second-half free throw advantage over the Toros to secure the conference victory.

Cal State Dominguez Hills travels north to San Francisco State and Sonoma State the weekend of January 9-10, before returning home to host Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State Stanislaus the weekend of January 16-17. Tipoff for all games is at 5:30 p.m.