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SEASIDE, Calif. — Friday night's women's basketball battle royale between 2012 CCAA Tournament champion Cal State Monterey Bay and 2012 regular season champion UC San Diego lived up to its advance billing as the Otter rode their suffocating defense to a 57–48 win in The Kelp Bed.

CSUMB (8-3, 5-3 CCAA) came out of its recent offensive slump just enough to support a defense that held its sixth opponent of the season and second in a row under 50 points.

UCSD dropped to 8-8 and 6-3 with the loss.

Sophomore guard Nikki Beckman (Dublin/Ohlone College) led three Otters in double figures with 12 points. Centers Brittani Jefferson (Palmdale/Antelope Valley JC) and Gabby Munsch (Lodi/Cal State San Marcos) each added 10 points.

But defense was the story Friday, especially on the perimeter, where a tag-team of Otter guards held CCAA leading scorer Daisy Feder to 13 points, seven below her season average entering the game.
“We really stuck to our game plan tonight. It sounds like a broken record, but our defense is winning games for us right now,” said CSUMB Head Coach Renee Jimenez. “We knew we hadn't been shooting the ball well and so we had to make UCSD earn every point. 

“Obviously, Feder is a handful,” Jimenez continued, “and I thought Jessica Fontenette, Britnee Lewis and Stefanie Corgel did a great job individually on her. The key was really how the team responded to knowing that guarding a player like her is every person's responsibility.”

The Otters tried to take control several times in the first half, but every time they grew their lead to five or six points, UCSD responded. The Tritons never led by more than one point in the first half or two points in the second half, but neither did they let the Otters run away with the game.

CSUMB finally found the big run it needed to gain separation midway through the second half. After a Feder three-pointer gave UCSD its final lead at 32-30, a Corgel three kick-started a 10-0 Otter run that gave them the lead for good at 42-34.

A Beckman jumper pushed the CSUMB advantage to 10 at 46-36 with 7:43 to play and the Tritons never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

“This was a great win for us and feels like the monkey has been lifted off our back a bit,” said Jimenez.
“Tomorrow night is going to be another tough one and we need to play like we lost by 20 tonight. I'm excited to see how we respond after such a big victory.”

CSUMB returns to action Saturday night, closing its four-game homestand by hosting Cal State San Bernardino in The Kelp Bed. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. as the opener of men's/women's doubleheader action.