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Rice University Athletics
Rice University
Cal State Northridge
Women's Hoops Blows By Cal State Northridge
11/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Rice at Cal State Northridge Box Score (PDF)
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Four players recorded double figures as the Rice University women's basketball team notched a convincing 81-55 victory over Cal State Northridge Friday evening at the Matadome on the CSUN campus.
All nine Owls who saw action scored a point, grabbed a rebound and dished out an assist.
"It was a tremendous team effort," associate head coach Misty Murphy said. "We did a great job of executing the game plan, which was to be an attacking style of offense that got to the free throw line. We also played solid defense and did a fantastic job of pressuring them into turnovers."
Rice (4-0) went 24-of-31 from the free throw line, including a 16-for-20 effort in the opening half. The Owls also forced 27 Matador turnovers and turned them into a season-high 41 points. Rice has scored at least 24 points on its opponent turnovers in each game this season.
Valeriya Berezhynska headlined all scorers with 19 points and 16 rebounds. She also posted four blocks, two steals and two assists.
Maudess Fulton added 14 points, while Tara Watts tallied a career-high 13 points to go along with nine rebounds. Kadie Riverin also chipped in 11 points and four assists.
Cal State Northridge sprinted out to a quick 8-0 edge at the 17:32 mark of the first half before Rice dug its heels in and fought back to even the score at 20-20 on a pair of Berezhynska free throws with 9:41 to go. The Owls continued its strong play and finished the half on a 15-6 run over the final 6:22 to take a 43-31 lead into the locker room.
Cal State Northridge (0-4) trimmed the deficit to 50-42 with 13:42 remaining on a free throw by Megan Prior, who led all Matadors with 13 points.
After a pair of Berezhynska free throws pushed the Rice lead back to 52-42, the Owls defense forced three consecutive Matador turnovers in the backcourt and pumped in seven quick points capped by a Shyrelle Horne three-ball at the top of the key to make it 59-42 with 12:49 on the clock. Horne finished with career-best six points in addition to career-high four assists and four steals.
Rice finished a 15-0 spurt three minutes later as Berezhynska stole the ball and drove in for a lay-up to put the game away.
Brittney Hudson scored her first collegiate points, while Melissa Wittmayer totaled three points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Wittmayer has recorded a blocked shot in each of her first four games.
"Brittney has been focused and has stepped up her play in practice over the last week," Murphy said. "She is showing glimpses of what she is capable of. Melissa also has shown a strong defensive presence and continues to take advantage of the minutes she's getting."
Rice finishes its five-game road swing Sunday at UCLA. Tip-off is slated for 3pm CT against the Bruins. KTRU 91.7 FM and RiceOwls.com will provide a live broadcast from Pauley Pavilion.
