Box Score ONTARIO -- Cal State L.A.'s women's basketball team turned in a comeback for the ages and advanced with a thrilling win over UC San Diego in a California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament game.

The Golden Eagles stormed back from an 18-point halftime deficit and got a game-winning free throw from Alisha Belt to edge the Tritons, 60-59, Thursday in a first-round game  at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. Cal State L.A. (17-10) advances to face No. 1 seed Cal Poly Pomona in a semi-final game on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

The game featured a stunning turnaround. UC San Diego (16-11) shot 60 percent in the first half while building leads as large as 21 points. The Golden Eagles scored the last three points of the first half but still trailed, 41-23 at halftime.

Then things turned completely around.

In the second half, Cal State L.A.'s tenacious defense limited the Tritons to just 16 percent shooting. UC San Diego was just 4-of-25 and, amazingly, three of the four baskets were 3-pointers.

Cal State L.A., on the other hand, shot 50 percent in the second half and all 12 baskets were inside the 3-point arc, most on driving layups.

The Golden Eagles still trailed by 10 points, 59-49, with 7:24 to go, but scored the final 11 points of the game. A layup by Kaija Powell cut the deficit to one point, 59-58, with 1:38 to go, a free throw by Tina Fantroy tied it at 59-59 with 44 seconds left and a free throw by Belt with 9.9 seconds left won it. UC San Diego had one final attempt, but outstanding defense forced a tough shot by Erin Dautremont with two seconds to go and Destinee La Fountain rebounded the miss as the buzzer sounded.

"In the first half, I thought we came out nervous and scared and played really timid," Cal State L.A. Head Coach Janell Jones said. "We literally fought for all 20 minutes in the second half. I couldn't be prouder of our team."

UC San Diego, which seemingly couldn't miss in its electric first half, didn't score a basket in the final nine minutes of the game. After taking a 56-42 lead after a layup by Dana Webster with 9:34 to go, the Tritons managed only three made free throws the rest of the way.

"Everyone talked about what we had to do at halftime," Belt said. "Everyone was saying it wasn't over."

It wasn't over until Belt gave the Golden Eagles their first lead since they had a 12-11 advantage with 12:31 to go in the first half.

Belt was fouled while driving to the basket following a timeout. She missed the first free throw and then hit what turned out to be the game-winner.

"I wasn't sure what the whistle was going to be," Belt said. "Then, I thought, 'I can win this for my team."

Tina Fantroy had a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles, while Belt had 12 points and five rebounds. Powell also had an exceptional game with 11 points and eight rebounds.

UC San Diego got 14 points each from Miranda Seto and Webster, while Dautremont had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Cal State L.A. finished the game shooting 39.6 percent (21-of-53), while UC San Diego shot 38 percent (19-of-50). The Golden Eagles missed all four of their 3-point attempts, while the Tritons were 10-of-22 from behind the arc, 7-of-11 in the first half and 3-of-11 in the second half. The Golden Eagles were 18-of-29 from the free-throw line, while the Tritons were 11-of-16.

The Golden Eagles owned a 40-34 rebounding edge and committed 14 turnovers to 15 for the Tritons.

"(At halftime), we really just talked about us," Jones said. "We calmed down and then got into attack mode."

Cal State L.A. got eight points and five rebounds from La Fountain, seven points and four steals from Aiwekhoe Okungbowa and two points, seven rebounds and three assists from Faith Fantroy.

The Golden Eagles held a 12-11 lead after a basket by La Fountain, but the Tritons scored the next 12 points to take a 23-12 lead. Cal State L.A. closed to within 27-20 after a jumper by Paige Melville, but the Tritons went on another run, this one a 14-0 run and took a 41-20 lead after a 3-pointer by Haley Anderson with 31 seconds remaining in the half.

The Golden Eagles showed some spark to close the half, getting a free throw from Belt and a late steal and two free throws by Okungbowa to make it 41-23 at halftime.

Cal State L.A. continued its surge in the second half, getting layups from Belt and Tina Fantroy, a pair of free throws by La Fountain and another layup by Tina Fantroy to pull quickly to within 41-31. UC San Diego weathered the first surge and extended its lead back to 16 points after a 3-pointer by Cassie MacLeod with 13 minutes remaining.

The deficit stayed in double digits until a layup by Powell made it 57-49 with 7:47 to go. Seto hit a pair of free throws with 7:24 remaining, but UC San Diego didn't score again and Cal State L.A. steadily chipped away. A free throw by Okungbowa made it 59-50, a jumper by Tina Fantroy made it 59-52, a tip-in by Powell made it 59-54 with 4:54 to go, a layup by Belt made it 59-56 and a steal and layup by Powell made it 59-58 with 1:38 remaining.

After Okungbowa rebounded a miss, Tina Fantroy was fouled and tied it at 59-59 with 44 seconds to go. Powell rebounded another UC San Diego miss and, after a timeout, Belt was fouled driving to the basket and, after a miss, hit the game-winning free throw.

Cal State L.A. was meeting UC San Diego for the third straight year in the tournament. The Golden Eagles eliminated the Tritons in the semi-finals in La Jolla in 2012, the Tritons beat the Golden Eagles in the title game in 2013 and the Golden Eagles prevailed on Thursday.