By Esteban Ramirez
Sports Editor
With CSU Bakersfield down to Seattle University 53-48 in the second half, junior center Batabe Zempare sparked a 15-1 run, which allowed the ’Runners to take a commanding lead and win a Western Athletic Conference road game 69-62 on Jan. 31.
CSUB (15-6, 4-2 WAC) started the run with a layup by Zempare, and then she followed with a three-point play by with only 7:21 left in the game, which tied the game up 53-53. After tying the game, CSUB continued to build momentum off that play as they pushed the lead up 63-54 until Redhawks’ (6-15, 3-3 WAC) freshman guard Crystal Allen made a layup with 1:38 left in the game and stopped CSUB’s run.
“It was a huge play for us,” CSUB coach Greg McCall said on Zempare’s three-point play.
The ’Runners struggled for most of the game shooting free throws (15 of 29), but were able to go 6 of 8 from the charity stripe in the final minute to get the win.
“I thought we played pretty well for the most part,” McCall said. “I thought they played hard and together.”
McCall says that the team’s free throws could use some improvement.
“For us it is very unusual to shoot that bad. I think that’s something that won’t happen again. We will continue to improve on. Seattle is a tough place to play at. It was a smaller gym and they use different balls. They use the Nike balls, but it’s just a tough place to play.”
This was the third straight victory for CSUB, but it also was able to snap a three-game losing streak on the road.
“It was a huge win,” McCall said. “It was important for us to get the win on the road. For us, it was kind of a relief to get that monkey off our back.”
Outland led the way for CSUB with 22 points and six rebounds. She also went 9 of 18 from the free throw line, which tied a school record for most free throw attempts in a game. Zempare recorded her eighth double double of the year with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
“[Zempare] has been playing big for us inside,” McCall said. “They are a good inside team, so we wanted to take advantage of them too. I thought we did a good job of that.”
The ’Runners will continue their three-game road trip as they play at Utah Valley University on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.
McCall added that it would be huge for them to win the next two road games.
“We know we have our work cut out for us, but we know we’re ready to put in the work,” he said.
