Senior Night Enough for Northridge, 68-41

It was the final home game for the four seniors on the Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team.

So it was appropriate that the four seniors combined for 52 points for the Matadors in a 68-41 victory Saturday night over Montana State in a Big Sky Conference game at the Matadome.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign was the performance of senior guard Jamilah Jones.

Jones finished with 11 points in her best effort in three games since she returned to the team.

It was the first time she scored since she left the team for personal reasons in late January.

She made three of seven three-point shots, providing the Matadors with an outside shooting threat that has been missing since the departure of guards Edniesha Curry and Shakira Bryant.

Curry left the team for personal reasons in late January and Bryant is in academic limbo while she awaits a grade in one class.

So it was a welcome relief for Coach Frozena Jerro of Northridge to receive an offensive contribution from Jones.

“I think she finally got her desire back tonight,” Jerro said. “That was something that was good to see.”

Jones admits it has not been the easiest adjustment since returning to the team.

“Let’s just say I’m a little happier to be back now,” she said. “At first, I didn’t want to be back.”

With Jones returning to form and the usual performances from seniors Lynda Amari and Neda Milic, the Matadors (14-8, 8-4) had few problems with struggling Montana State (6-18, 2-11).

Amari finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and Milic had 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior Keisha Harris added eight points and eight rebounds.

“I think we’ve really pulled together as a team,” Milic said. “We overcame everything that happened to us, we adjusted and we played two really good games.”

The Matadors have also crept back into the conference title race. With Montana’s 58-53 loss Saturday night to Northern Arizona, the third-place Matadors are closing in on the conference-leading Grizzlies (17-7, 10-3).

The Matadors, however, play their final four games on the road.

“It’ll be tough, but we’re feeling confident about it,” Milic said.

It was a sloppy first half for both teams. Northridge had 12 turnovers and Montana State 10.

But that was about the only thing that went wrong for the Matadors, who led by as many as 15 points and held the Bobcats 24.1% (seven of 29 shots) from the field.

They took a 34-20 halftime lead on a three-point basket by Jones. Milic led the Matadors with 10 points in the half.