Cal State L. A. Women Repel Northridge Rally

The Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team came to town shooting for a chance to play in the championship game of the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament.

However, most of the shots the Lady Matadors took Thursday night in the first half of their semifinal game against Cal State Los Angeles were of the hurried and harried variety, which eventually doomed Northridge to a 74-63 season-ending defeat.

Northridge finishes 14-13 while Cal State L. A. (15-12) advances to Saturday night’s championship against Cal Poly Pomona, a 99-77 winner over Chapman.

“I think we were a little tight,” said Northridge Coach Leslie Milke, whose team made just 13 of 39 shots in the first half. “We pressed a little bit. The defense in the first half was poor. We didn’t play tight and aggressive like we normally do.”

The Golden Eagles shot a sizzling 73% (14 of 19) in the first half. Cal State L. A. jumped to a 13-2 lead and took a 41-28 halftime lead behind the play of sophomore forward Tina Slatinsky, who scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the first half.

The Lady Matadors battled back in the second half and tied the score, 60-60, on a basket by Julie Arlotto with 4:09 left.

Cal State L. A. led, 65-61, with two minutes left and the Golden Eagles capitalized on turnovers by Vicki Mallett and Kathleen Dixon to ensure the victory.

“We attacked the first half and allowed them to come back,” Cal State L. A. Coach Fran Buckleff said. “Sometimes when a team is out ahead so far they tend to get comfortable with the game. We got comfortable and they came out and picked up the pace.”

Cal State L. A. received a productive game from its front line. Center Lupe Quintana scored 19 points and had 13 rebounds and forward Sue Doody had 15 rebounds and 9 points to complement Slatinsky, who made 11 of 15 shots.

“This is the best game I’ve seen her play,” Milke said of Slatinsky. “She made the difference, especially near the end. She nailed some shots.”

Marianne Dixon led Northridge with 19 points and 15 rebounds and Kathleen Dixon scored 12 points and had 9 rebounds.

“I was really proud of the way we came back,” Milke said. “I’d much rather lose that way then come out the second half and play like we did in the first half. I think some teams might have given up.”