
CSUN Hosts UC Riverside before Venturing to UC Davis
2/23/2016 2:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Matadors Meet Two of League's Top Teams in Conference Action
COMPLETE RELEASE IN PDF FORMAT
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN women's basketball team (6-20, 4-8 Big West Conference) plays a pair of pivotal Big West games in the penultimate week of league play. On Wednesday, Feb. 24, the Matadors host league-leading UC Riverside in a 7 p.m. match at The Matadome. Then on Saturday, Feb. 27, the Matadors make the trek to face the UC Davis Aggies in a 3 p.m. contest at The Pavilion. The game with the Highlanders will have Ghizal Hasan calling all the action on the CSUN Sports Network and both games will be featured on BigWest.TV. Fans are also encouraged to check with the CSUN Athletic Department's official Twitter accounts (@GoMatadors, @CSUNCapeCrew and @_AlwaysFamily_) for updates throughout the weekend.Â
Last week, the Matadors lost decisions at UC Santa Barbara and at home against Cal Poly. Freshman Channon Fluker set a new CSUN Division I record with 15 offensive rebounds against the Gauchos and finished the contest with 31 points and 19 rebounds for her eighth-straight double-double. Two days later, Jasmine Johnson scored a career-high 20 points, including a career-high eight free throws, but the Matadors could not overcome a slow start against the Mustangs.Â
This week offers CSUN two stern challenges as it looks to improve its seeding in the Big West Tournament. UC Riverside is undefeated in Big West play, standing at 12-0 and firmly in control of the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament. The Highlanders feature a talented starting five led by defending Big West Player of the Year Brittany Crain. Both Matador head coach Jason Flowers and associate head coach Lindsey Foster coached at UCR for head coach John Margaritis before coming to CSUN.Â
Three days later, CSUN hits the road for its last long roadtrip of the season and heads to Northern California to face the UC Davis Aggies. Despite losing twice last week, the Aggies remain in fourth place in the Big West Conference standings, which would give them at least one bye in the tournament.Â
Next week, the Matadors travel to Cal State Fullerton for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday, Mar. 3. Two days later, CSUN hosts Long Beach State in a 3:30 p.m. contest that is part of a CSUN In-N-Out Basketball Doubleheader. After the game with the 49ers, the Matadors will honor their lone senior, Jasmine Johnson, in a ceremony.
CSUN Team Notes
- Freshman Channon Fluker set a new CSUN Division I record with her 15 offensive rebounds at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 18
- Fluker leads the Matadors at 17.0 ppg and 12.3 rpg in 12 Big West Conference games
- Senior Jasmine Johnson scored a career-high 20 points and eight free throws in the contest against Cal Poly on Feb. 20
- Johnson has scored in double-figures five times as a senior, four more than she totaled between her freshman-junior seasons combined
- Junior Emily Cole needs 9 more 3-pointers to move into 10th in program history at 85 treys for her career
- Cole ranks 10th in Matador history with 285 career 3-point attempts
- Sophomore Serafina Maulupe has scored in double-figures a team-best 15 times this season
- Maulupe knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers in CSUN's win over UC Irvine on Feb. 13
- Sophomore Vanessa Garner returned to the line-up at UCSB on Feb. 18
- Garner scored a CSUN career-high 14 points against Cal Poly on Feb. 20, just her second game back from injury
- The Matadors and Mark Roberts enjoyed their partnership on several radio broadcasts this season
- Sophomore Katelin King was featured in a story written and produced by the Big West Conference's Olivia Phelps
Scouting UC Riverside
- The UC Riverside Highlanders enter Wednesday's game with a 19-7 overall record and 12-0 mark in Big West Conference play
- The Highlanders defeated Long Beach State and UC Davis last week to remain undefeated in league action
- Senior guard Brittany Crain has won three-straight Big West Player of the Week awards and is averaging a league-high 21.7 ppg
- Crain is shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range while averaging 5.6 rebounds per game
- Junior Rejane Verin is second on the team in scoring at 17.5 ppg while averaging a team-best 8.9 rpg
- Senior Simone DeCoud is averaging 8.7 points while sophomore Michelle Curry is averaging 8.6 ppg
- As a team, UCR is shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from 3-point range
- The Highlanders average 36.2 rebounds, 19.5 assists and 13.3 turnovers per game
- UCR posted an 83-76 victory over CSUN earlier this season at the SRC Arena in RiversideÂ
Scouting UC Davis
- The UC Davis Aggies enter the week with a 15-11 overall record and 8-5 mark in Big West Conference play
- The Matadors are the Aggies' only opponent this week and UCD is 7-5 at home this season
- Freshman Morgan Bertsch leads UCD in scoring at 13 ppg and is also averaging 4.8 rebounds per game
- Senior Alyson Doherty is averaging 12.1 ppg and a team-high 6.5 rpg for the season
- Sophomore Pele Gianotti is third on the team at 11.9 ppg and leads the squad with 56 3-poiners this year
- As a team, UC Davis shoots 44.2 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from 3-point range
- The Aggies average 37.1 rebounds, 16.8 assists and 15.7 turnovers per game
- UC Davis posted a 75-52 victory at The Matadome in both team's Big west Conference opener on Jan. 7