CLAREMONT - Ashley Kowack led UC Santa Cruz in scoring for the second day in a row and three other Banana Slugs scored double figures in their 78-59 road win over Pomona-Pitzer.
UC Santa Cruz improves to 13-4 on the season and swept the season series with the Sagehens for the first time since 2016-17.

Sunday's game began like Saturday's at Cal Lutheran, with a close start putting the Banana Slugs behind after one quarter. Just like Saturday, UC Santa Cruz rallied strong in the second. Aubrey Wagner's steal and layup ended a 20-9 run that gave the Banana Slugs a 38-30 lead with 1:30 until halftime. The visitors ended up outscoring Pomona-Pitzer 21-11 in the second quarter to take a 39-32 halftime lead.

The Banana Slugs didn't slow down in the third quarter, outscoring the Sagehens 22-10 to lead 61-42 heading into the fourth. Kowack's reverse layup with 7:05 left made it a 20-point margin at 65-45, and Wagner's breakaway layup with 2:00 left gave UC Santa Cruz their biggest lead at 76-51.

Kowack finished with 20 points on 8-22 field goals, including 4-11 from three. Her eight makes put her at the top of the school's career field goals list with 519. Amanda Inserra added 18 points, and Wagner finished with 13. Kaylee Murphy added 10 along with a team-high 14 for her 11th double-double of the season. Tess Oakley-Stilson had team highs of four steals and five assists to go with her five points.

The Banana Slugs converted 44.8% of their field goal attempts (30-67) compared to 29.6% (16-54) for the Sagehens, who were led by Madison Quan's 20 points. The Banana Slugs also had a 43-31 rebound advantage.
UC Santa Cruz returns home for a pair of games this week, starting Thursday against Pacific Union at Kaiser Permanente Arena.