CSUN Women's Hoops Tips Off Season with Exhibition vs. The Master's College

Friday, November 4

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

The Master's University (Calif.)

11/3/2016 10:28:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Matadors Feature Roster of 14, Including Five True Freshmen

By: by Geoffrey Herberg

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN women's basketball team will start its 2016-17 season with an exhibition contest against The Master's College Friday night at 7 p.m. in The Matadome. The Matadors feature a roster of 14 under the direction of seventh-year head coach Jason Flowers and will face the Lady Mustangs in a tune-up before the year officially opens on Nov. 11 against Portland State.

Live stats and a live audio broadcast featuring Mark Roberts calling all the action on the CSUN Sports Network will be available for the contest.

CSUN returns nine letterwinners and four starters from last year, including sophomore Channon Fluker. As a freshman, Fluker became the first freshman to earn All-Big West First Team honors in over a decade and was named CollegeSportsMadness.com's National Mid-Major Freshman of the Year.

Emily Cole is the team's only senior on the 2016-17 roster. She enters the year with 85 career 3-pointers, the 10th-most treys in program history. Cole needs 15 more 3-pointers to become the eighth player in program history to reach 100 career 3-pointers.

Also returning are juniors Tessa Boagni, Serafina Maulupe, Jordan Smith and Vanessa Garner. Sophomores Nautica Morrow, Cheyenne Allen and Claudia Ramos join Fluker as the contingent of second-year players on the roster. Finally, the team features five freshmen on the roster: Eliza Matthews, Lauren Shymkewicz, Terrin Sullivan, Hayley Tanabe and Lizzy Tonks.

The team welcomed in a new assistant coach, Brandy Manning, to the staff in the offseason. Associate head coach Lindsey Foster, assistant coach Christine Collins-Kiernan and Director of Operations Thomas Osburn all return to the sidelines for CSUN.

Flowers has compiled a tough non-conference schedule to challenge the Matadors before the rigors of league action. CSUN will play at Fresno State, Stanford, Washington and Saint Mary's while also hosting Detroit, Delaware and Michigan State for its annual Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament.

The Master's College is coming off a 25-6 overall record and a 14-2 mark in conference play last year. Bianca Cubello is a senior forward who averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds en route to Second Team NAIA All-American honors. Dan Waldeck is in his ninth season as the head coach of The Master's College.

CSUN officially opens the 2016-17 season at home against Portland State at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11. The Matadors and Vikings will square off as part of a CSUN basketball doubleheader with the men's basketball program, which will face Pomona-Pitzer at 7:30 p.m.