WILMINGTON, Oh. – The UC Santa Cruz women's basketball team earned a 65-47 victory over the Wilmington Quakers in their season opener. Emilie Ngo led the attack with 20 points, six assists, three steals and two turnovers while Alexa Litchev added 16 points and nine rebounds. Alyssa Jackson also recorded double digit points with 12 on the night. The Banana Slugs will be back in action tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. PST when they take on Christopher Newport at Wilmington College.
 
How It Happened
Wilmington struck first with a jumper as the two teams traded baskets early to work to a 4-4 tie, but the Slugs were dominant from that point on as they used an 18-5 run to take a 22-9 lead after the first quarter. Emilie Ngo and Danielle Tyner led the charge with seven points and six points with Alexa Litchev adding the other five.
 
The Banana Slugs defense was stellar in the second quarter, holding Wilmington to just two points while they scored 15 of their own to go up 37-11 at the halftime break. UCSC spread out their offense in the second quarter as Litchev, Ngo, and Alyssa Jackson all scored three points while Jenna Gorton, Lia Papador, and Danielle Tyner each added two points in a high scoring first half for the Slugs.
 
Out of the halftime break, the Slugs continued to control the action as they outscored the Quakers 8-6 in the first four minutes of the third quarter with Alyssa Jackson and Bria Tate both hitting shots from downtown while Emilie Ngo added two points in the paint to put UCSC up 45-17. The Quakers were able to regroup slightly with an 8-3 run to end the third quarter with Alyssa Jackson hitting a three to put UC Santa Cruz up 48-25 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Wilmington continued to battle back in the fourth quarter as they cut the lead to under 20 points at 52-35 with a 10-4 run. UC Santa Cruz's lead was too much as the Slugs pushed back with a three from Emilie Ngo to make it 55-35. Wilmington didn't slow down, using an 8-1 surge to force a UCSC timeout with the Slugs' lead cut to 56-43 with 3:29 left to play. The Slugs were able to regroup after talking things over, using a 9-4 run to go up 65-47 with four points from Alexa Litchev, three from Alyssa Jackson, and two from Bria Tate. Jackson's three pointer was the final basket of the game as UCSC took home the 65-47 victory in their season opener.
 
Off the court, in the spirit of CSC Membership Appreciation Week, the Banana Slugs' victory fueled a friendly rivalry as the Director of Athletic Communications for Wilmington, Michael Pagano, and UC Santa Cruz's Director of Athletic Communications, Aaron Gray, used to work together as graduate assistants while pursuing their master's degrees. Today's contest marks the first time in their careers that their respective departments have squared off against one another.