LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's basketball team did most of its scoring from long-range, but the Golden Eagles picked up a big California Collegiate Athletic Association victory over UC San Diego thanks to a decisive defensive stop.
 
The Golden Eagles hit 11 shots from behind the 3-point arc, but needed a big defensive stop at the end for a 65-63 win over the Tritons Friday night in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (6-7, 5-4 CCAA) won its third straight game and did it against an opponent they have struggled against in the past. The Golden Eagles were just 6-26 lifetime against the Tritons coming into Friday's contest, although two of those wins came in the past three seasons in CCAA Championship Tournament play, including last year's come-from-behind win in a first-round contest in Ontario.
 
Cal State L.A. posted its first win over UC San Diego in the Eagles Nest since 2005.
 
Cal State L.A. actually shot better from 3-point range than they did from inside the arc. The Golden Eagles were 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) than they were from inside the arc, where they were just 14-of-43, including several missed lay-ups.
 
Franeka Hall had 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Golden Eagles, while Bree Parsons had 13 points. Chiara DiMarco had eight points, four rebounds and three assists, while Kiah Knox and Kaija Powell had seven points each.
 
Dana Webster led UC San Diego (8-6, 6-3 CCAA) with 20 points and 16 rebounds, while Jamie Katuna had 16 points, Beth Mounier had 11 points and Farrah Shokoor had 11 points and 16 rebounds.
 
Cal State L.A. shot 40.3 percent overall for the game (25-of-62) and limited UC San Diego to just 31.4 percent (22-of-70). The Tritons made 14-of-21 free-throw attempts to just 4-of-8 for the Golden Eagles, but Cal State L.A. made up for that with its 3-point shooting, hitting 11 long-distance shots to just five for the Tritons.
 
Cal State L.A. battled to a 45-45 draw on the boards, although the Golden Eagles also committed 19 turnovers to just 10 for the Tritons.
 
The Golden Eagles almost let this one get away. After Geena Greene scored on a nice offensive rebound and basket, Cal State L.A. led 65-58 with 3:42 to go. UC San Diego, though, closed to within 65-63 after a layup by Webster with 33 seconds to go. After Cal State L.A. missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 21 seconds to go, UC San Diego got the rebound and called timeout with 17 seconds to go. Shokoor missed a contested jumper and Hall got the rebound as time nearly ran out. With one-tenth of a second put back on the clock, Hall purposely missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to run out the clock.
 
Cal State L.A. led by as many as 10 points in the first half after knocking down nine first-half 3-pointers. A 3-pointer by Hall gave the Golden Eagles their first double-digit lead at 19-9 and a layup by DiMarco gave the Golden Eagles a 21-11 advantage.
 
A 3-pointer by Samantha Lee gave the Golden Eagles a 24-15 lead, but UC San Diego went on a 14-2 run to take a 29-26 lead late in the half. Three-pointers by Hall, Shanice Jackson and Lee helped the Golden Eagles rally to take a 35-31 halftime lead.
 
The second half was close throughout and UC San Diego took its last lead after a pair of free throws by Webster made it 46-45 with 15 minutes to play. Cal State L.A. scored the next six points on a basket by Knox, a steal and layup by Powell and an offensive rebound and basket by Hall.
 
The Golden Eagles managed to build seven-point leads on two occasions, the final time after Greene's basket with 3:42 to go that provided them with just enough points to win.
 
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Saturday with a home game against Cal Poly Pomona.