California State University at Northridge
Arizona State
CSUN Closes Out 2015 at No. 21 Arizona State, No. 18 Cal
12/27/2015 12:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Matadors Look to Record Third win vs. Pac-12 over Last Four Seasons
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN women's basketball team (2-9) takes on a pair of nationally ranked opponents on the road after Christmas, squaring off with the Pac-12 Conference's No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils and No. 18 California Golden Bears. On Monday, Dec. 28, the Matadors will face the Sun Devils at Wells Fargo Arena in a 3 p.m. contest. Two days later, CSUN travels to Berkeley to face the Golden Bears in a 7 p.m. game. Both contests will be featured on Pac-12 Network with live video-streaming links available at GoMatadors.com. Fans are also encouraged to check with the CSUN Athletic Department's official Twitter accounts (@_AlwaysFamily_ and @GoMatadors) for updates throughout the week.Â
Before breaking for the Christmas holiday, CSUN went 1-1 on a road trip to Oregon. On Dec. 18, the Matadors defeated Portland 68-62 as sophomore Tessa Boagni recorded her second-career double-double with a team-high 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Serafina Maulupe scored 15 points and knocked down a career-high three 3-pointers as the Matadors topped the Pilots on the road for the first time in the all-time series.Â
Two days later, despite a career-high 28 points and 11 field goals from Boagni, the Matadors suffered an 83-77 defeat to Portland State. Maulupe added 18 points and freshman Cheyenne Allen scored a career-high 12 points in the loss.Â
This week brings CSUN a pair of challenges on the national stage. The Arizona State Sun Devils are 8-3 overall and are coming off a victory over No. 10 Florida State. The Sun Devils were boosted by the return of Sophie Brunner and a career-high 23 points from Arnecia Hawkins to defeat the Seminoles.Â
Two days later, the Matadors make the trip to Northern California to face the No. 18Â California Golden Bears. Cal is coming off a 108-104 double-overtime victory against UCLA in which two players, junior Courtney Range and freshman Kristine Anigwe, posted double-doubles.
After the game with Cal, CSUN returns home to The Matadome for its final non-conference game, a meeting with Seattle on Jan. 2 at 4 p.m. on the CSUN Sports Network.
Scouting No. 21 Arizona State
- The Arizona State Sun Devils enter the week with an 8-3 overall record after defeating No. 10 Florida State 68-56 on Dec. 21
- Senior Arnecia Hawkins, a 5-10 guard, led ASU with 23 points in a rematch of a 2015 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 meeting that the Seminoles won
- Junior Sophie Brunner, a 6-1 forward, returned to action against FSU and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals
- Brunner and 6-4 junior center Quinn Donstauder are tied for the team lead in scoring at 11.2 points per game
- Brunner is also the team's leading rebounder at 5.4 per game while 5-3 senior guard Elisha Davis has dished out a team-high 60 assists
- Katie Hempen, a 5-9 redshirt senior, leads the squad with 22 3-pointers and averages 9.8 ppg
- As a team, ASU is shooting 42 percent from the field while limiting its opponents to 39.3 percent from the field and 25.5 percent from 3-point range
- CSUN is 0-2 in the all-time series with the Sun Devils and have not faced Arizona State since 2000
- Charli Turner Thorne is in her 19th season as the head coach at Arizona StateÂ
Scouting No. 18 California
- The California Golden Bears are 8-2 overall after defeating UCLA 108-104 in double overtime on Dec. 21 at Haas Pavilion
- The win was the Golden Bears' second-straight overtime win as Cal defeated Nebraska 87-80 in one extra periodÂ
- Courtney Range, a 6-3 junior forward, scored a team-high 29 points to go with 12 rebounds and five assists
- Kristine Anigwe, a 6-4 freshman forward, added 25 points and 10 rebounds in the victory over the Bruins
- Anigwe is averaging a team-high 21.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while shooting 59.6 percent from the field
- Range is averaging 15.4 ppg to go with 7.0 rpg and 43.2 percent shooting from 3-point rangeÂ
- Mikayla Cowing, a 6-2 junior forward, is averaging 13.2 ppg while Asha Davis, a 5-4 freshman guard, 13 ppgÂ
- As a team, Cal is shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from 3-point range
- Cal has taken 77 more free throws than its opponents and averages 43 rebounds per contest
- Lindsay Gottlieb is in her fifth season as head coach of the Golden Bears
- Cal has won the last four meetings with CSUN although the two programs have not since 2004
CSUN Team NotesÂ
- Sophomore Tessa Boagni ranks sixth in the Big West in scoring at 13.1 ppg
- Boagni also checks in at fifth in field goal percentage (.479), eighth in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and tied for fifth in blocked shots (1.1 bpg)
- Sophomore Serafina Maulupe is tied for 10th in the Big West in scoring (11.6 ppg) and has scored in double-figures in seven-straight contests
- Maulupe also ranks seventh in free throw percentage (.791), eighth in league in steals (1.5 spg) and ninth in assists (2.7 apg)
- Senior Jasmine Johnson is sixth in the Big West Conference in free throw percentage (.800)
- Freshman Claudia Ramos is sixth in the Big West in 3-point field goal percentage (.375)
- Sophomore Jordan Smith is seventh in the Big West in 3-point field goal percentage (.357)
- As a team, CSUN has the third-highest scoring offense (63.8 ppg) in the Big West Conference
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