Women's basketball earns first conference win

In their 2017 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference - North Division opener, all nine Spartans in uniform entered the scoring column and five scored in double figures as the MiraCosta College women's basketball team cruised to an impressive 82-45 win over College of the Desert.

Helena Betancourt led all scorers with a career-high 17 points, including a 4-point play early in the second half, and was backed up by Danielle Bosley with 13 points, Camille Blaye Cook and Colleen Murphy with 12 apiece, and Ayli Tulberg with 11.

With the win, MiraCosta earned its seventh win of the season and snapped a three-game skid to improve its record to 7-11. MiraCosta earned the win after beginning the conference slate with the third-best non-conference winning percentage in the PCAC-North despite falling to College of the Desert by eight back in November. The Roadrunners fell to 3-15 overall.

The Spartans set the tone early in the first quarter with aggressive defense, leading to multiple College of the Desert turnovers, and by attacking the offensive glass, leading to many second chance opportunites.

After leading 21-10 at the end of the first quarter as Blaye Cook hit two free throw's with zero's on the clock, MiraCosta went on to close the first half on a 15-1 run and held College of the Desert to no field goals in the final five minutes of the half to expand their lead to 27.

MiraCosta continued to grow their lead throughout the second half as the pushed it to as much as 45 in the fourth quarter.

Next up, MiraCosta will travel to Mt. San Jacinto College for its first road conference game of the season on Saturday, January 21, at 1 p.m.