College Basketball : CSUN Discovers One Team It Can Beat

If the Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team played Cal State Los Angeles more often, it might be playing for more than pride these days.

But pride is all Lady Matadors have left and they made the most of it on Thursday night with a 74-69 victory over the visiting Golden Eagles.

In improving their California Collegiate Athletic Assn. record to 2-5, the Lady Matadors beat Cal State L.A. for the second time in less than two weeks.

“We had nothing to lose,” Renee Loch said after scoring 12 of her 14 points in the second half when the Lady Matadors erased a 36-32 deficit.

CSUN, which travels to UC Riverside for a 5:45 p.m. contest on Saturday, outscored the Golden Eagles 16-8 in the first seven minutes of the second half to grab a 48-44 advantage.

Then Lady Matador guard Lori Costello made sure her team stayed in the lead by scoring 11 of her game-high 22 points down the stretch.

Dianna Ayala added 13 for the Lady Matadors. Freshman Regan O’Hara, who was plagued by fouls, scored just seven points.

Susan Perez led the Golden Eagles (2-5 in CCAA play and 12-6 overall) with 16 points while Patti Held added 13.