Chelsea Carlisle scored 20 points to lead UCSD (Jimmy Gekas/Sideline Studios)
LA JOLLA–Coming into Thursday’s home game against Cal State Monterey Bay, UCSD head coach Charity Elliott had a goal.
Yes, her Tritons were 12-0 and ranked 7th in the country in Division II, but that matters little to her. Of late the team had been making a habit of playing only one good half of basketball. Winning’s always the goal, but UCSD wanted a complete performance on their home floor to advance the cause.
Well, there’s always another chance on Saturday.
UCSD stormed out to a 35-20 halftime lead against the Otters, then held on for dear life, eventually securing a 68-63 victory at RIMAC Arena. The victory runs UCSD to 11-0 all time against CSUMB, and pushes their perfect record out to 13-0, 8-0 CCAA.
A lead that swelled to 16 early in the second half dropped all the way down to one point with 2:15 to play. That’s when Chelsea Carlisle took over. The sophomore point guard showed why she’s the CCAA’s leading scorer (18.1 ppg), pouring in seven of her game-high 20 points in the final two minutes.
“We’re just a team that knows how to win,” said Carlisle, who popped a guarded three-pointer with 1:59 to play coming down the wing, opening a four-point cushion for the Tritons. On the ensuing Monterey Bay possession Carlisle grabbed a steal, then fed her backcourt teammate Annette Ilg (10 points), who drew a foul and hit both free throws.
Watch a postgame video interview with Charity Elliott after the jump:
For most of the game UCSD struggled to generate anything on offense, shooting just 33% from the field while missing 10 of 26 free throws. It was on defense where the Tritons made the Otters pay, forcing 19 turnovers which led to 25 points.
The Tritons also made a living on the boards, led by tenacious junior Tiffany Hunter, who cleared seven offensive rebounds on route to a team-high total of 11. Carlisle added a season-best 9 rebounds.
The Otters came alive in the second half behind a flurry of three-pointers from Michelle Santizo (14 points) and London Houchin (12 points). When Santizo drained back-to-back baskets with 2:15 to play, a lead that had been in double digits for most of the night was down to one point.
The Tritons escaped, but head coach Charity Elliott still feels there are many issues to address. She talked to 619 Sports in a video interview after the game:
UCSD is back in action against San Francisco State at RIMAC Arena on Saturday night. The game tips off at 5:30pm.
