Women’s Basketball Roundup : UCI Rallies to Beat Idaho State, 78-71

Natalie Crawford scored a career-high 27 points, and Nadia Burks had a career-high 20 points as UC Irvine posted a 78-71 come-from-behind win over Idaho State Friday night in the opening round of the Santa Clara women’s basketball tournament.

Irvine (6-4) trailed, 61-53, with eight minutes remaining in the game but outscored the Vandals, 25-10, to take control. Crawford and Burks, who had 13 rebounds, combined for 15 of those 25 points. Idaho State is 4-5.

In the San Francisco Tournament:

Montana 50, Chapman 40--Cheryl Brandell and Sharla Muralt both scored 13 points to lead the Grizzlies past Chapman in the opening round. Leone Patterson led the Panthers with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Chapman (8-4) shot 27% from the field.

In South Coast Conference play:

Cerritos 62, Cypress 53--Jane Hentzen and Shelley Bowcutt both scored 18 points to lead the Falcons in the SCC opener at Cypress. Cheryl Hoffman led all scorers with 22 points for the Chargers, and Janet Jenson and Yvonne Perreiah both had 14 rebounds. Cerritos improved to 11-4, while Cypress fell to 5-7.

Golden West 73, Rancho Santiago 63--Kim Abeyta scored 21 points and Karen Chase added 20 to lead the Rustlers (12-3) past the Dons at Golden West. Rancho Santiago (8-7) outrebounded the Rustlers, 77-42, but made only 24 of 95 shots from the field. Leah Palmer led the Dons with 15 points, and Kelly Murray and Holly Wood both added 13.

Saddleback 80, Compton 62--Connie Waikle scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Cheryl Eland added 28 points to lead the Gauchos (10-5). Betty Gross paced Compton with 28 points.