An early fourth quarter collapse by the Matadors (2-15, 0-7 Big West) led to the UC Riverside Highlanders (10-8, 5-3 Big West) running away with a 57-46 victory, Saturday afternoon in Northridge.
The loss marks the 15th straight defeat for the Matadors this season, with seven coming in conference play. Forward Kayanna Spriggs led the Matadors with a double double, scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Talo Li-Uperesa also put up double digit scoring numbers. Coach Carlene Mitchell talked about the Matadors’ struggles to win at home.
“Everyone is just desperate for a win,” Mitchell said. “All teams know and understand in the Big West you need to win your home games.”
The game started off with the Matadors taking an early 8-2 lead, with Li-Uperesa scoring five points in the stretch. The Highlanders would respond with a 9-2 scoring run, led in part by Jordan Webster, who scored nine of her 27 points in the quarter, including a triple to give UC Riverside an 11-10 lead.
Rachel Harvey made a pair of free throws to restore the Matadors’ lead early in the second quarter, but the Highlanders scored a pair of baskets to extend their lead to 16-12.
Spriggs later tied the score at 16, making way for an 10-0 run she and Li-Uperesa led to give the Matadors a 22-16 lead. However, the Highlanders refused to back down, as they chipped the Matadors’ lead to one point to close the first half.
Mitchell talked about the impact of Spriggs throughout the game.
“She’s super athletic and she’s a matchup problem for a lot of other power forwards and centers,” Mitchell said. “She was efficient tonight, finishing through a lot of contact, including a couple of and-ones.”
UC Riverside jumped to a six-point advantage to kick off the second half with a 28-22 lead. Spriggs responded with a layup, but the Highlanders maintained their form through the rest of the quarter to take a 39-34 lead into the final frame.
Both teams traded baskets to start the 4th quarter, with Erica Adams scoring a three-pointer to reduce the deficit to four, but five consecutive turnovers committed by the Matadors allowed the Highlanders to increase their lead to 13 and ultimately pull away with the victory.
Mitchell addressed the continuous struggles from the Matadors in the fourth quarter.
“In critical moments, I think it’s a combination of both seeing the scores tight and fatigue.” Mitchell said.
CSUN went 15-45 from the field, while UC Riverside went 21-55. Both teams shot evenly in the second and third quarters, going 25% and 41.6% in the frames. Meanwhile the Highlanders outscored the Matadors in the paint 28-20.
The Matadors grabbed 33 rebounds, matching UC Riverside’s count in the process. However, CSUN turned the ball over 17 times compared to UC Riverside’s 11. The Matadors also recorded three steals to UC Riverside’s 10.
Mitchell also talked about the next Big West matchup against Cal State Bakersfield.
“They’re in a similar position we are, which is needing a win.” Mitchell stated. “Hopefully we can build off of the positives we had today.”
The Matadors will be traveling to Cal State Bakersfield this Thursday, looking for redemption from last season’s Big West postseason tournament loss.
