CSUN Faces Central Coast Foes in Big West Action

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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN women's basketball team (6-18, 4-6 Big West) plays a pair of important Big West Conference games that will help determine seeding in the upcoming Big West Tournament. On Thursday, Feb. 18, the Matadors travel to face the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in a 7 p.m. contest at The Thunderdome. Two days later, CSUN returns to the San Fernando Valley to host the Cal Poly Mustangs in a 4 p.m. game that will be broadcast live on ESPN3. On the CSUN Sports Network, Mark Roberts will have the call for the game at UCSB while Alan Zinsmeister will call all the action against the Mustangs. Fans are also encouraged to check with the CSUN Athletic Department's official Twitter accounts (@GoMatadors, @CSUNCapeCrew and @_AlwaysFamily_) for updates throughout the weekend.

Last week, the Matadors defeated UC Irvine 62-48 behind 18 points from Serafina Maulupe. The Anteaters' 48 points were a CSUN opponent season low and Channon Fluker and Emily Cole each posted double-doubles in the victory.

This week, the Matadors face the teams directly above and below them in the standings. UC Santa Barbara is fifth at 6-5 in the Big West Conference and posted a 66-49 victory over CSUN at The Matadome earlier this year. The Gauchos' Makala Roper is tied for the league lead with 29 3-pointers and is shooting over 40 percent from downtown against conference opponents. Junior Onome Jemerigbe leads the Big West in both steals and assists in the conference season.

Two days later, CSUN hosts the Cal Poly Mustangs in a game broadcast online ESPN3. The Mustangs are 4-7 in the league campaign and are sitting in seventh place in the conference standings. For the season, Hannah Gilbert ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (12.5 ppg) and third in the conference in rebounding (9.1 rpg). Beth Balbierz has hit 49 3-pointers and is shooting 35.3 percent from downtown this season. The Mustangs escaped with a 66-62 overtime win over CSUN earlier this season.

Next week, CSUN hosts league-leading UC Riverside on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. and then travels to UC Davis for a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday, Feb. 27. The Matadors will then face Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State in the final weekend of league play.

CSUN Team Notes

CSUN freshman Channon Fluker has posted seven-straight double-doubles, averaging 20.8 points and 13.9 rebounds per game in that span
Fluker leads Matadors at 16.7 ppg and 12.4 rpg in 10 Big West Conference games
Junior Emily Cole needs 9 more 3-pointers to move into 10th in program history at 85 treys for her career
Cole has scored in double-figures five times in 2015-16, three more than she totaled in her first two seasons
Sophomore Serafina Maulupe has scored in double-figures a team-best 15 times this season
Maulupe set a new career high with five 3-pointers in the home win over UC Irvine
Sophomore Tessa Boagni has scored at least 20 points three times this season, including a career-high 28 points at Portland State
Boagni has scored in double-figures 11 times and led CSUN in scoring six times this season
Sophomore Katelin King scored all 17 points in CSUN's game at UC Riverside in the fourth period, setting a new career high
King is tied with Cole for the team lead with 17 3-pointers in Big West Conference play
Senior Jasmine Johnson has scored in double-figures four times in 2015-16, including a career-high 17 points at LBSU
Johnson leads the Matadors in free throw percentage (.810) for the season
In Big West play, the Matadors rank second in rebounding offense at 41.4 rebounds per game
CSUN averages a league-best 14.8 offensive rebounds per game in Big West Conference play

Scouting UC Santa Barbara

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos enter the week 9-16 overall and 6-5 in Big West Conference Play
The Gauchos split their two games last week, defeating UC Irvine 80-62 before falling to Long Beach State 60-52
Sophomore Makala Roper leads the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game and has a team-high 51 3-pointers
Senior Jasmine Ware is second on the squad at 9.9 ppg and averages 3.6 rebounds per game
Freshman Coco Miller is third on the team with 9.5 ppg and is second on the team with 46 3-pointers
Junior Je Zhe Newton leads the squad in rebounds per game at 5.4 and sophomore Taylor Farris has a team-high 103 rebounds
UCSB averages 34.5 rebounds, 13.2 assists and 19.1 turnovers per game and shoots 41 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range
The Gauchos posted a 66-49 victory at CSUN earlier this season; Ware had 17 for UCSB while Emily Cole led CSUN with 14 points
Bonnie Henrickson is in her first season as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara

Scouting Cal Poly

The Cal Poly Mustangs enter the week with an 11-13 overall record and a 4-7 mark in the Big West
Before traveling to the San Fernando Valley, the Mustangs play at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Feb. 18
Junior Hannah Gilbert leads Cal Poly in scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounds (9.1 rpg) and has a team-high 32 blocks on the year
Senior Beth Balbierz is second on the team at 12.1 ppg and leads the club with 49 3-pointers
Sophomore Dynn Leaupepe is third on the team at 10.5 ppg and also averages 4.4 rebounds per game
As a team, Cal Poly averages 40.2 rebounds, 12.8 assists and 17.5 turnovers per game
The Mustangs shoot 38.1 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from 3-point range for the season
Cal Poly edged CSUN in overtime in the first meeting between the schools this year
Faith Mimnaugh is in her 19th season as the head coach at Cal Poly

CSUN Faces Central Coast Foes in Big West Action

Players Mentioned

Tessa Boagni

Emily Cole

Channon Fluker

Jasmine Johnson

Katelin King

Serafina Maulupe

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