Fresno, CA—Redshirt sophomore forward Skyler Lewis posted career-highs of 20 points and 15 rebounds on Sunday at Fresno State (1-2), powering the UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team (1-3) to a 68-56 victory, its first of the season.
KEY RUNS
The Highlanders led 12-11 with just over a minute left in the first before embarking on a 14-4 run midway into the second, giving the visitors a 26-15 advantage. Lewis scored eight of the 14 points for UCR during the run, making all four of her shot attempts and grabbing four rebounds.
Fresno State would cut the deficit to as little as three in the second half, but a 10-2 UC Riverside run capped off by a tough left-handed layup by junior forward Malou Thiebaut De Kergret increased the Highlanders' lead to 64-50. That was UCR's largest lead of the year, coming with 5:01 remaining in the game.
GAME NOTES
With her 20-point, 15-rebound double-double, Skyler Lewis bested her previous career-highs of 15 points and 12 rebounds, set against Hawai'i on Feb. 2, 2017 (
box score/
recap). She finished 8-of-13 (.615) from the field and 4-of-6 on free throws while adding a season-high three blocks.
Lewis becomes the first Highlander with a 20-15-3 game since Réjane Vérin put up 20 points, 16 boards and three steals against CSUN on Feb. 11, 2017 (
box score/
recap).
UC Riverside bounced back from a difficult offensive night at Stanford two days prior, going 29-of-58 (.500) from the field in the win over the Bulldogs, its most efficient showing through four games this year. The Highlanders came out of halftime scorching hot, connecting on 10-of-16 (.625) and scoring 25 points in the third for their best offensive quarter of the season.
Michelle Curry had an efficient showing herself, adding 15 points (7-of-12 FG) to go along with season-highs of six rebounds and three assists.
Jannon Otto and Malou Thiebaut De Kergret rounded out UC Riverside's top scorers, with Otto scoring nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and De Kergret tallying eight points on an efficient 4-of-5 mark from the field.
Fresno State missed its first 12 threes before making four in a row to cut the deficit to 40-37 in the third quarter. The Bulldogs finished the game just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc. UC Riverside's opponents are now just 7-of-50 (.140) from deep over the last two games.
The Highlanders had a season-best +4 rebounding margin to go along with a season-high six blocks.
UCR will be back in action next Friday as it takes on SMU at the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nevada.
