Cal State women upset No. 25 Sonoma State

Vanessa Wilt was glowing.

The Cal State San Bernardino center’s hair was dyed blonde for the first time all season, she was standing beneath a lone fluorescent light in a dark hallway inside Coussoulis Arena, and her team had just beaten the first-place squad in the conference.

“I’m so proud of our team,” Wilt said, barely containing her enthusiasm after a 70-57 win Friday over Sonoma State. “I knew we could do it.”

After picking up two early fouls, the reigning California Collegiate Athletic Association MVP sat out all but six minutes of the first half, yet the Coyotes trailed by just a point at halftime.

Wilt then played all 20 minutes of the second half, scoring 18 of her game-high 22 points, collecting six of her seven rebounds and both of her blocked shots. A close game morphed into a relatively easy victory for the unranked Coyotes (13-3, 7-2) over the No. 25 Seawolves (13-3, 7-2).

“The (most recent) win is always the biggest win,” head coach Kevin Becker said. “It’s nice that they were in first and we showed them we can play, too.”

Wilt lost her streak of 15 consecutive double-doubles to begin the season, but gained something greater in the process: revenge.

“They swept us last year,” Wilt said of Sonoma State. “That kind of hit home for us; that was our main motivation. We had to show we were better than that and we had to take first place in the league.”

Having lost two of their last three games, the Coyotes needed a victory to regain a share of first place. They did so with authority, never trailing over the game’s final eight minutes.

Krystal Urzua scored 13 points off the bench and grabbed five rebounds. For the 5-foot-4 guard, it matched the highest rebound total of any Sonoma State player.

Leslie Pickron was the game’s other surprise contributor. The senior guard had played eight minutes all season before logging 19 on Friday and hitting two three-pointers to double her season total.

Not to be lost was her defensive effort against the Seawolves’ leading scorer, Danae Wellander, who hit 2-of-12 shots for five points, well below her 14.2 season average.

“She got at Wellander,” Becker said, “and did a pretty decent job on her.”

Shanae Blake added 15 points for Cal State San Bernardino, which has a chance to crack the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 poll for the first time since the 1997-98 season.