At Cal State San Marcos on Friday night, “it wasn’t the prettiest game,” according to Lumberjack head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson, but Cal Poly Humboldt’s women basketball squad prevailed 76-65 with their trademark defense and solid shooting from the free throw line to go to 3-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

After being held to just five points in the opening quarter and trailing by 10, the Jacks outscored their opposition by 17 in the second and third. The defense again showed up, turning 28 Cougar turnovers into 25 points. Humboldt went 26-30 at the line, including 6-for-6 in the final quarter.

Freshman Jordyn Smith continued to impress, with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks (a category in which she leads the CCAA). Kyori Lloyd was huge off the bench, shooting six-for-nine from the field with 23 points, going 10-of-12 from the line. Shade Satica had 10 points, nine rebounds, and six steals, and Riley Sanz chipped in 10 points as well with two threes and four-for-four shooting from the line.

“In general, we got a really slow start and dug ourselves a hole,” said Bento-Jackson. “However, we pulled ourselves out of it, Kyori really gave us a spark, and Jordyn had a huge second half. Once again, it was our defense, we didn’t have a good shooting night and were turning it over way too much, so I don’t think our offense got much of a flow, but our defense really created opportunities for us. I thought it was a collective effort on the defensive end both in the full and half-court.”

“I thought Kyori was very aggressive in attacking the basket,” she continued, “and really kind of got us going offensively, everyone kind of following her lead in that area. We didn’t have a great shooting night, but attacked the basket and ended up knocking down free throws, which turned out to be critical,” she said.

Looking ahead to Monterey Bay with a message to her squad, Bento-Jackson said, “It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but road games are tough, we found a way to win, and to make this trip as successful as we want to we’ve got to stay focused for the next 48 hours and bring a better game against Monterey Bay tomorrow.”

Tip-off for the Jacks’ next contest, also in conference as is the case the rest of the regular season, is at Cal State Monterey Bay Sunday at 1 p.m.

CR’s men’s basketball team had a positive start to the Kris Kringle Tournament in Santa Rosa on Friday, jumping out to a 22-4 lead over Cuesta, but even en route to an 81-64 win, were never quite able to put the game away as a “mature team” might, according to head coach Justin Claus, who nevertheless found plenty of positives.

CR would take on No. 3 state-ranked Santa Rosa in the championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday.

After the hot start, Claus said, Cuesta made adjustments to switch Redwoods’ off-ball actions, which isn’t new, but the team had a “mental lag” and didn’t adjust its attack quickly enough. Cuesta brought it back within 10, but CR led 38-23 at the break. Multiple times in the second half, Cuesta continued to reel in Redwoods, and despite the winners having runs, it “never felt comfortable” according to Claus.

The team was excited about the win, however, and will face the host squad in the final. Santa Rosa’s only loss on the year is to San Francisco, the top-ranked team in the state. “We’ll play a really good team, and are excited for the opportunity,” said Claus.

Marcos Rosales paced the squad with 22 points, Kaden Erlenbush with 16 and Nate Sweet 15 on a night when oft-times leading scorer Cody Whitmer had four fouls in the first half and saw limited minutes. Alfonso Medina also earned kudos from his coach on his defensive work on one of Cuesta’s leading scorers and best player, limiting him to two points.

“We’re all just kind of grinding through it and felt the frustration,” Claus said of not really being able to put the game away, but he found inspiration in Medina’s defensive prowess.

After Santa Rosa, Redwoods will next see Cuesta again at home Jan. 3 at 1 p.m., as they will be making the long trip up from San Luis Obispo in Redwoods’ last non-conference tilt.