February 23, 2005

Senior Night - A Success

SANTA CRUZ, CA -- Playing their last game at the West Field House, Seniors Amanda Brecht and Julie Randall were honored by their teammates and fans in a brief ceremony before the game and got to celebrate the team's 4th win of the season after. Brecht and Randall, the team's senior captains, were unstoppable last night as they combined for 40 points and led the Slugs to a 62-56 victory over William Jessup University. Both ended the game with double-doubles, this was the fourth for Brecht and first for Randall on the season. Julie led the team with 23 points on a 45% shooting night along with 12 rebounds, 7 of which were offensive. Amanda followed up with 17 points of her own, shooting 57% from the field while adding 10 rebounds.

With Brecht and Randall putting up the big numbers, as they have all season, it was the solid guard play of the Slugs that helped put another game in the win column. Point guard Rachel Ocampo had 9 points shooting 4-6 from the field along with strong defensive pressure that led to 2 steals in the first half while forcing 2 Jessup turnovers late in the second half. Lauren Cardinalli came off the bench to add a defensive presence that led to crucial stops in the second half while her smart offensive play added 3 assists on the night. Jenna Chabot hit her 5 crucial points in the second half to help propel the Slug offense along with some exceptional post-entry passing that setup Amanda and Julie for numerous scoring opportunities.

Leading the team in assists was Junior Libby Lane with 4, Lane also went 2 for 2 from the freethrow line late in the game which helped the Slugs keep the lead and the momentum as UCSC pulled away from a mere 1 point lead with 4 minutes left to go. A well-rounded game helped UCSC get its first Senior Night win since 2002.

The Slugs have two more games left in the season as they travel to Colorado Springs to play Colorado College and Nebraska Wesleyan.