BOX SCORE

HAYWARD, Calif. — Renee Jimenez has been known to say that, “defense never slumps.” When her Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team slumped shooting the ball to open both halves, her defense stayed hot, carrying the Otters to a 51–38 win over Cal State East Bay Saturday night in Pioneer Gym.

CSUMB improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. East Bay fell to 3-4 and 1-2.

“I really like seeing how much we are improving each game. At this point we are showing a lot of versatility as a team,” said Jimenez. “We can play high scoring games or slow it down and execute in the half court. At the end of the day, as long as we focus on our defense, we can play any type of game offensively.”

No player from either team scored in double figures. Stefanie Corgel (Manhattan Beach/UCSB) and Nikki Beckman (Dublin/Ohlone College) shared high-scoring honors with eight points apiece. Holly Holcomb (Ventura/Buena HS) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Also of note was the defense of senior guard Jessica Fontenette (Chino Hills/Bishop Amat), whose game-high four steals bring her within five of Dana Andrews' school record of 133.

CSUMB opened the game shooting 5-of-21 from the floor. But the Otter defense clamped done, holding the Pioneers to 1-of-9 from the field. That allowed CSUMB to keep the game close until Corgel nailed a three to open a personal 6-0 run and give the Otters the lead for good at 17-12.

The Otters opened the second half even more cold, making just one of their first seven attempts from the field as East Bay closed to within 25-23 six minutes into the second half. Again, the CSUMB defense held the line until the offense found its footing. This time a traditional three-point play by Brittani Jefferson (Palmdale/Antelope Valley College) and a long ball by Beckman started a 10-2 run that gave the Otters their first double-digit lead at 35-24.

The Pioneers never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

“I really like seeing how much we are improving each game,” added Jimenez. “At this point we are showing a lot of versatility as a team. We can play high scoring games or slow it down and execute in the half court. As long as we focus on our defense, we can play any type of game offensively.

“We are also seeing a lot of growth within our bench. It's still early and we haven't really even shown how deadly we are from top to bottom. I'm looking forward to our break and continuing to get better individually  and as a team.”

CSUMB will take an extended break from play for finals week and the winter holiday break. The Otters return to action Jan. 4-5 when they head to Southern California to face Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A.