ATHERTON, CA – A dominant first quarter and a determined fourth quarter were the highlights for Menlo Women's Basketball on Friday as the Oaks led by as many as 10 points, engineered a comeback, and were down only by two with under a minute left in regulation before Cal State Monterey Bay eked out a 60-54 victory inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion during the season-opening PacWest/CCAA Crossover Challenge.
Oaks Highlights
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Alberte Frisch poured in a game-high 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field
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Mehkia Applewhite grabbed 10 rebounds to lead all players
-The five assists from
Jayonnah Carter were also a game high
-Three Oaks notched three steals apiece
Teams Combine For 28 Steals In Exciting Transition Action
Six steals in the first quarter demonstrated the fast pace Menlo thrived under and fastbreak layups during those 10 minutes from senior guard
Alberte Frisch and sophomore forward
Zoe Carrillo helped the Oaks establish a 17-9 advantage by the end of the first frame following a 9-0 run. A steal by graduate student forward
Frida Schmidt turned into a bucket for sophomore guard
Madeline Bader on the other end as the margin returned to double digits but CSUMB countered with a 13-2 surge that gave them a 26-23 lead.
Graduate student guard
Laila Saenz, sophomore forward
Taylor Westbrook, and Frisch then all scored in the paint for a 6-0 push that contributed to Menlo's 29-28 advantage at halftime. Runs of 8-0 and 6-0 had the Otters making a furious comeback in the third quarter and, though senior guard
Mehkia Applewhite made three free throws in the final minute, the visitors were up by 10 heading to the fourth.
Six unanswered Menlo points midway through the last quarter cut the margin to three with four minutes left before Applewhite and Frisch scored on consecutive possessions to make it anyone's game at 56-54 with just under one minute to go. Steals by both sides continued the thrill-ride, but with CSUMB holding the ball at the 16-second mark, the Otters made enough free throws to hang on for the 60-54 win.
Up Next
Menlo will close out its own PacWest/CCAA Crossover Challenge tomorrow with a 6 p.m. tip-off against SF State.
