Matadors Post Victory over UC Irvine

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN women's basketball team (6-18, 4-6 Big West) defeated UC Irvine 62-48 Saturday afternoon in a Big West Conference game at The Matadome. Sophomore Serafina Maulupe led the Matadors with 18 points while freshman Channon Fluker and junior Emily Cole each recorded a double-double in the victory.

The Matadors led virtually wire-to-wire as they posted their sixth-straight win over the Anteaters. Maulupe came out shooting, knocking down four of her career-high five 3-pointers in the first half. She finished 5-of-11 from downtown and added two rebounds in 21 minutes.

Cole also had a strong night, matching a season high with 14 points for the third time this season. She grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in 29 minutes and seven of those boards came on the offensive glass. Cole also added two 3-pointers and leads the team with 30 treys on the season.

Fluker finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds to post her seventh-straight double-double. She also had seven offensive rebounds and added two blocked shots. For the season, she is averaging a team-high 11.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

The Matadors and Anteaters were tied at 6-6 early in the contest, but CSUN went on a 10-5 run to close out the first period with a 16-11 advantage. The Matadors then scored the first 15 points of the second period to take a 31-11 lead with 3:28 left in the half. UCI chipped back, but the Matadors led 33-18 at halftime.

In the second half, the Matadors started strongly and led 44-24 about five minutes into the third. Cole scored five points in a 16-second sequence to give the Matadors their largest lead of the game at 24. UCI fought back and got as close as 13, but that came with 1:25 left in the game.

As a team, CSUN shot 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the field and 28.1 percent (9-of-32) from 3-point range. UC Irvine finished at 32.2 percent (19-of-59) from the field and 8.3 (1-of-12) percent from 3-point range. The Matadors held a 47-36 advantage in rebounds, recorded 18 second-chance points and had 15 assists.

Freshman Nautica Morrow set a new career high with five assists in the win and Katelin King finished with eight points, four rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes of action.

The Matadors return to action on Thursday, Feb. 18 with a Big West contest at UC Santa Barbara. Tip off from The Thunderdome is slated for 7 p.m.

Players Mentioned

Emily Cole

Channon Fluker

Katelin King

Serafina Maulupe

Nautica Morrow