Vermillion, SD—With a team-high 19 points, senior guard Michelle Curry became the 18th Highlander to reach 1,000 career points on Tuesday night at South Dakota (7-5). However, the UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team (3-9) would end up on the wrong side of a back-and-forth second half, falling to the Coyotes, 73-64.
KEY RUNS
The Highlanders never led in the opening half, facing their largest deficit at 25-14 early in the second quarter. Back-to-back three-pointers from Malou Thiebaut De Kergret and Lauren Holt sparked a 14-4 run, cutting the deficit to just one at 29-28.
After a tightly contested third quarter that saw eight lead changes, the visitors kept it close, reducing USD's lead to 65-61 on a Michelle Curry free throw with 3:10 left in the game. Unfortunately for the Highlanders, Curry would foul out soon after, as the Coyotes scored five straight points to ice the game with just over a minute remaining.
GAME NOTES
Curry shot 6-of-11 (.545) from the field and 7-of-8 (.875) on free throws for her 19 points, putting her at 1,014 career points. Now with 254 career free throws, she moves into No. 7 all-time at UCR. (
UCR 1,000-Point Club)
The Highlanders finished with four double-digit scorers for the third straight game, led by Curry (19) and Lauren Holt (13). With two three-pointers, Holt improved her three-point streak to nine games, tying her longest run in a Highlander jersey.
Redshirt sophomore forward Skyler Lewis had a near double-double with 12 points (5-9 FG) and nine rebounds, also tallying three assists and two blocks.
Rounding out UCR's double-digit scorers was Malou Thiebaut De Kergret, who put in a season-high 12 points to go along with three assists. The junior forward knocked down her first three-pointers (2-5 3FG) since the first game of the season, as she played just her second game since missing four straight with a sprained ankle.
UC Riverside finished the game with its second-most efficient mark from the field this season, connecting on 50 percent (25-50 FG) of its shots, compared to 40.7 percent (22-54 FG) for the Coyotes. The Highlanders also outrebounded their opponent (33 to 30) for the third straight game.
The difference came in turnovers and on the free throw line. UCR had its second-highest turnover total (22) of the season, leading to 30 points off turnovers for South Dakota. The Highlanders also shot just 12-of-21 (.571) from the free throw line, compared to 22-of-28 (.786) for the Coyotes.
UCR will conclude its final non-conference road trip of the season this Saturday when it travels to Minnesota for an 11 am PT tip-off.
