SANTA CRUZ, CA — Chiara Brown and Marissa Howell finished in double figures, and the University of La Verne women's basketball team surged in the fourth quarter to beat the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs on the road 60-50.

Brown led all players with 18 points in the win off of 6-11 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. She added five rebounds and two steals to her hot start to the season.

Howell knocked down a pair of threes, dished out a team-high five assists, and added one steal in the win.

"So proud of the effort we showed today. It was our best effort overall this season," said University of La Verne women's basketball head coach Anthony Mason. "We played a complete defensive game, and offensively, assisting on 18 of 21 baskets, shows how much we shared the ball and found the open player."

It was a low-scoring affair in the first half. The Leopards went into the break with a 29-20 lead following an Aatilah Watkins layup.

The Banana Slugs rallied in the third quarter and cut the Leopards' lead to just two points when a jumper from Lilli Hammons made the score 37-35. But the Leopards held onto their lead. Back-to-back layups from Brown and Howell gave La Verne a 41-38 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

The Leopards started the fourth quarter hot, going on a 9-2 run bookmarked by baskets from Kim Leon and Cayla Harang to extend their advantage to 50-40. A three by Alyssa Smith with under two minutes to play sealed the win for the Leopards

Smith finished with nine points, a team-high seven rebounds, and two assists. Brianna Torres scored eight points off two three-pointers with six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. 

Naomi Jackson had a solid all-around game for the Leopards, finishing with six points, four assists, two rebounds, and a steal. 

Alexa Litchev led UC Santa Cruz with 11 points.

The Leopards improved to 3-1 overall, and the Banana Slugs fell to 4-3.  The Leopards return to SCIAC play on Wednesday, December 6, when they travel to Pomona-Pitzer at 7 p.m.