Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's basketball team finally played its first home game of the 2009-10 season and the Golden Eagles picked up their first victory as well.
The Golden Eagles got big games from
Jazzi Johnson and
Jordan Kuzma and beat Academy of Art, 54-43, Saturday at the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (1-4) used a big surge during the second half to open up a 21-point lead and then held on down the stretch.
Johnson scored a season-high 20 points, 16 of them in the second half, to lead the Golden Eagles. She made eight of nine shots and four of her five free-throw attempts. It was the second-highest point total of her Cal State L.A. career. Johnson, a junior guard, had a career-high 23 points in a game against Concordia on Dec. 22, 2007.
Kuzma, a junior forward/center, recorded her first double-double of the season. She had 14 points and 12 rebounds and was a big presence inside. The 14 points and 12 rebounds both equaled season highs for Kuzma.
Madeline Houston scored nine points and had seven rebounds to lead Academy of Art (3-5). Sondra Stilwell added eight points, while Caprice Hall had seven points.
Cal State L.A. held a 41-40 rebounding edge, while forcing 28 turnovers and committing 22.
Academy of Art led early and opened up a 14-9 advantage after a basket by Hall with 6:54 remaining in the opening half. The Urban Knights had a 22-19 lead with 1:11 to go in the half after a 3-pointer by Houston, but a jumper by Whitley and a three-point play by Johnson gave the Golden Eagles a 24-22 lead at halftime.
After a basket by Verity Peets tied the game at 24-24 with 18:30 to go, Cal State L.A. broke the game open by scoring the next 21 points to take it biggest lead of the contest, 45-24, with 9:07 to play. Back-to-back baskets by Kuzma started the run, which included eight consecutive points from Johnson. She had 10 points during that stretch, Kuzma had eight points and Whitley had three points.
A 3-pointer by Stilwell stopped the run and got the Urban Knights out of a scoring drought that lasted nearly 10 minutes.
A steal and basket by Johnson made it 54-34 with 5:59 to go and Academy of Art fought back by scoring the game's final nine points.
Cal State L.A. will return to action next Friday when it faces Northwest Nazarene in a tournament game in Nampa, Idaho. The Golden Eagles' next home game is Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. against Dixie State.
