LA JOLLA–The UCSD women’s and men’s basketball teams continued doggedly on their paths last night, heading in opposite directions. The 8th ranked women’s team smoothly dispatched Cal State Dominguez Hills 83-57, running their win streak to four and their record to 18-1 (13-1 CCAA), while the men’s team (4-13, 3-11 CCAA) fell apart in the first half before rallying to make their fifth straight loss look more respectable, ultimately falling to CSUDH 68-58 at RIMAC Arena.
Charity Elliott’s women’s team is displaying a level of depth and athleticism that may be unrivaled on the West Coast in Division II. Last night, the Tritons had all 13 players get at least eight minutes of playing time, with 12 scoring. UCSD took control of the game midway through the first half with the second unit on the floor and all five starters resting.
“Our bench came in and really made a difference for us,” said Elliott of a unit that scored a season-high 42 points, “picked up where we started and kept it going. We never had any letdown, which was a big step for this team.”
Daisy Feder (pictured) came off the bench for a career-high 19 points, including four three pointers. Chelsea Carlisle, played just 23 minutes but still added 17 points and four rebounds. Annette Ilg was her typical whirling dervish of defense, fast break outlets and layups, finishing with 14 points and three steals in just 18 minutes of work.
The UCSD backcourt of Carlisle and Ilg, with Feder, Osga and Laylani Martin in reserve, is easily the best in the CCAA, if not the country. Martin (7 points) could start on any other team in the conference, and is the best Triton at breaking down a defender off the dribble.
Leading by 17 at the half, the Tritons starters picked up on the energy their bench provided, jumping out with a 22-7 run that put the game well out of reach. UCSD is now 11-0 at RIMAC Arena and will look to extend their streak against Cal State L.A. at 5:30pm on Saturday, a game that will be simulcast live right here on 619Sports.Net.
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Casey Ryan had a career-high 19 points in the UCSD loss (Jimmy Gekas/Sideline Studios)
The men’s team had shown progress over the past week but took a step backwards on Thursday night against a much taller and more athletic Dominguez Hills squad. UCSD played with the Toros for the first 10 minutes, then saw the first half end on a 20-3 run. During that stretch, the Tritons were regularly getting blocked inside by the Dominguez front line, which included 7-footer Amir Aguilar and 6′9″ Michael Cox.
Jordan Lawley contributed his usual 24 points and Casey Ryan added a career-high 19, but the rest of the Tritons were an ice-cold 5-for-30 from the field. In addition, the team’s up-and-down free throw shooting returned, with UCSD clanking their way to a 13-for-25 performance from the stripe.
“We really didn’t execute anything at all in the first half,” said head coach Chris Carlson, “we really dug ourselves a hole and didn’t fight back from it in the first half. We fought back in the second half but we were in too deep of a hole.”
Carlson described the effort as “disappointing” but vowed to focus on improvement for his mostly young team. His problem is two-fold, and one part is not going to change. First, his Tritons lack a reliable second option offensively, particularly from the outside. This is unlikely to change this year but can evolve over time.
Next, his UCSD team plays in a conference against schools like CSUDH, which featured 9 junior-college transfers on their roster. It’s a virtual guarantee that none of those nine (including five players 6′8″ or bigger) would have any chance of being enrolled in La Jolla. The physical disadvantages are always going to be there. UCSD needs to be a mentally strong team, but they showed the lack of resolve often found around a team with a sub-.250 winning percentage when things went south in the first half.
The Tritons will try to salvage one win out of their four-game homestand when they host Cal State L.A. at 7:30pm on Saturday night. You can watch all the action live right here on 619Sports.Net, Craig Elsten will have the call of both games starting with the women at 5:30pm.
