Alana Bailey's Double-Double Inspires Toro Victory Over Western New Mexico, 81-66
Altadena native tallies 20 points and game-high 14 boards
December 20, 2004

Complete Box Score

Carson, CA -- True freshman Alana Bailey (Altadena, CA/John Muir HS) notched 20 points and a game-high 14 boards as the Toros mounted a furious second-half rally to defeat visiting Western New Mexico, 81-66, Monday night at the Torodome.

With the victory, CSUDH improves to 4-3, while WNMU falls to 4-7.

The Mustangs jumped to a quick 7-4 lead in the game’s first three minutes of play before a Karen Shirley (San Diego, CA/Morse HS) lay-up knotted the contest at 9-9 four minutes later. Behind Bailey’s stellar play, CSUDH would reclaim the advantage at 22-19 at the 9:28 mark, and an Adiana Vega-Howard (Covina, CA/Northview HS) three-ball would increase the lead to 27-22 with just over seven minutes left in the first half.

WNMU would rally behind Melanie Cleusix’s 17 first-half points, eventually heading into intermission with a slim 35-32 cushion.

The second half saw the Mustangs take a 42-34 advantage on a Natalie Lara 3-pointer, and take their largest lead of the contest at 51-38 on another trey, this time by Whitney Card. The Toros, however, would begin their charge, cutting the deficit to 51-44 on three-consecutive Michelle Kribell (Buena Park, CA/Western HS) buckets, the last in the stretch coming at the 11:57 mark.

A Brittney Blankenship (Palmdale, CA/Palmdale HS) jumper and a Bailey lay-up would reduce WNMU’s lead to 51-48, as the Toros scored the Mustangs 10-0 in the momentum turning run. Momentum eventually donned Cardinal Red & Gold as a Bailey jumper at 4:12 would give the Toros a 60-59 advantage.

Capitalizing on their hot shooting, the Toros would steadily increase their lead, pushing it to 74-64 with 37 seconds left on a pair of Tameka Blue (Watsonville, CA/Santa Cruz HS) free throws. The Mustangs would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way, as a Kribell jumper with 4 seconds left in the contest would close out the scoring, giving the Toros the 81-66 victory.

Blue and Kribell added 13 points apiece in the victory, with Kribell nailing all six of her shots from the field. As a team, the Toros dominated the glass, outrebounding the Mustangs 60-41.

For WNMU, Cleusix led all scorers with 25 points, while Natalie Lara (12), Tamara Goodliffe (11) and Card (10) closed out the double-figure scorers for the Mustangs.

The Toros return to action on Thursday, December 30, as they host Franklin Pierce College in the final game of the calendar year. First tip is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start in the Torodome.