The Jacks women’s basketball team took care of business Saturday night by dismantling the California State University, San Bernardino Coyotes 71-53 at the Lumberjack Arena.
It was a slow start to the game as both teams struggled to score a bucket. The score was tied at 2-2 until just over five minutes of play.
The Jacks’ twin sister duo of sophomore guards Tyra and Tyla Turner began to turn it on in the second quarter. Their teammates responded and HSU took a 13-point lead with 3:01 left on the clock, but the Coyotes closed out the first half on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit down to six points.
HSU head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson was proud of her team for turning it up on the defensive side of the ball.
“Their two leading scorers Parks and Knox were scoreless at halftime,” Jackson said. “So we felt like we did a darn good job on the defensive end. We never really got into a great flow offensively early on, which I’m sure was pretty boring for the fans.”
The action picked up in the second half as the Coyotes came out strong with six unanswered points to tie it up at 27, but HSU took control of the game and finished the third quarter with a nine-point lead.
The Jacks’ bench outscored the Coyotes 25-12 thanks largely in part to the play of junior guard Jovanah Arrington. She knocked down two three-pointers and had 14 points total.
“I just came in with a mindset to be ultra aggressive,” Arrington said. “It sets a tone for the whole team when you do it as an individual and it gives us good looks on offense and good looks on defense.”
The Jacks took charge of the game in the fourth quarter and built a commanding 22-point lead with 2:58 left to seal the deal.
Jacks guard Tyla Turner finished the game with 15 points and a game-high five steals, while sister Tyra finished with 12 points and four assists. Senior forward Kindall Murie finished with 10 points and five boards.
The result improved HSU to 9-8 overall and 8-4 in conference play, while CSUSB dropped to 6-10 overall and 4-8 in conference.
The Jacks hit the road this week for a clash against conference rival Chico State on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m..
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