BOX SCORE

LA JOLLA, Calif. — After the Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team stumbled Friday night at Cal State San Bernardino, the basketball gods gifted the Otters with a chance to take control of their destiny again Saturday night with Cal State L.A.'s upset of Chico State. But Otter shooting woes continued and UC San Diego took advantage to win 56–44 in RIMAC Arena.

With a win, the Otters (17-6, 14-6 CCAA) would have needed just two wins at home next weekend to secure the CCAA title and the No. 1 seed in the CCAA Tournament. UCSD (18-9, 16-4) now has that exact path to the title for itself.

CSUMB still has a theoretical--though very remote--shot at the CCAA crown. More realistic is the No. 2 seed, which they would clinch with two wins and a loss by Chico State at Cal State East Bay on Thursday night. The Otters took the No. 2 seed path through the bracket to win the CCAA Tournament Championship in 2012.

CSUMB shot just 25.8 percent from the floor Saturday night (16–for–62), its second worst performance of the season. The Otters did heat up from the field late, making three consecutive three–pointers to help trim an 11–point deficit to just one at 41–40 with 5:50 to play. It was still a four–point game at 47–43 when the Otters went cold from the free–throw line, missing 4–of–5 late to allow UCSD to pull away in the final two minutes.

CSUMB (17–6, 14–6 CCAA) got the seventh double–double of the season from Brittani Jefferson (Palmdale/Antelope Valley JC), who led the Otters with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Osga led UCSD (18–9, 16–4) with a game–high 22 points.

The Otters return home to close the regular season with two games next week, beginning with a Thursday night contest with Cal State Stanislaus. The Otters will host Chico State Friday night then a first round game in the CCAA Tournament on Tuesday, Mar. 5 against an opponent to be determined.