Box Score CLAREMONT, CA-- UC Santa Cruz used its defense and rebounding to earn a 68-57 win at Pomona-Pitzer. The Banana Slugs improve to 2-1 on the year.

UC Santa Cruz led 21-11 after one quarter on the strength of three steals to get extra possessions. The defensive pressure kept going in the second quarter, as the Banana Slugs forced four more turnovers and held the Sagehens to just three made shots to build a 42-19 lead.

The second half was the Sagehens' turn to be defensive. The hosts opened the third quarter with a 13-2 run in the first 5:38, forcing a UC Santa Cruz timeout. It was 45-33 before Jenna Gorton had back-to-back layups to help UC Santa Cruz restore the lead to sixteen points at the end of the third.

The final quarter was back-and-forth with the teams trading runs. Pomona-Pitzer hit a transition three-pointer to get within ten at 52-42 with six minutes left. Alyssa Jackson answered with a three of her own. After the Banana Slugs made another stop, Amanda Inserra had a turnaround jumper to make it 57-42 and force the Sagehens to take a timeout. From that point, UC Santa Cruz kept the Sagehens from making another run and saw out the win.

Ariel Anderson led UC Santa Cruz with 14 points as well as two blocks. Jackson added 11 points and Lindsay Zientek had 10.

The Banana Slugs finished with a 33-19 rebound advantage, holding Pomona-Pitzer without a single offensive rebound the entire game.
The Banana Slugs finish the roadtrip Sunday afternoon at Caltech.