College Basketball : CS Northridge Finishes Fast for 72-54 Victory

Leslie Milke is difficult to please.

Her Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team manages to build a 6-point halftime lead against Cal State Sacramento and Milke considers the Lady Matadors’ performance disappointing.

Northridge apparently took Milke’s evaluation to heart, however, raising its level of play a notch after intermission to turn a close game into an easy 72-54 victory in a women’s nonconference basketball game Wednesday at CSUN.

“We didn’t do a good job in the first half. We were really sluggish,” Milke said. “But in the second half, I was pleased.”

And why not? CSUN (12-3 overall) went on an 18-3 run early in the second half and coasted to the finish.

CSUN, which shot just 36% in the first half, took a 16-8 lead on Bridgette Ealy’s baseline jump shot midway through the half. But CSUN went scoreless for 5 minutes and Sacramento (10-4) rallied to take an 18-16 lead with 4:50 remaining. The Lady Matadors then staged a rally of their own, finishing with an 8-0 run that turned a 24-22 deficit into a 30-24 halftime lead.

And there was no looking back in the second half.

“Our second half could have been better but it was still a lot better than the first half,” forward Chris Cavalin said. “It showed we have a lot of heart.”

The Lady Matadors, who have won 4 of their past 5 games, travel to Cal State Los Angeles Friday to open California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play.

“We’re going to take them,” Cavalin said.

The Golden Eagles or the conference title?

“Both.”

Cavalin scored 14 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. Julie Arlotto scored a game-high 15 points for the Lady Matadors and Vicki Mallett added 14 points and a team-high 5 assists.