Omaha Uses Strong Fourth Quarter To Get Past CSUN 68-60

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—Omaha outscored CSUN 30-18 in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks defeated the Matadors 68-60 in women's basketball action Wednesday afternoon at the Matadome.

Leading 14-13 after one quarter of play, the Matador defense did not allow a Mavericks' field goal for the first 5:43 of the second quarter. Using the defense as a catalyst, CSUN would build a 26-17 lead as Channon Fluker would score 15 points. Omaha drew a second foul on Fluker late in the opening frame. With Fluker and front court mate Tessa Boagni in foul trouble, Amber Vidal drove the lane on three consecutive possessions, resulting in six points. Vidal keyed an 8-0 run that drew the Mavericks to within one, 26-25, at halftime.

Omaha center Courtney Vaccher scored seven consecutive points to open the second half to push the Mavericks into a 34-28 lead. CSUN battled back, holding Omaha to one field goal over the final five minutes of the period to take a 42-38 advantage after 30 minutes.

The Mavericks connected on their first three field goal attempts of final period to move past the Matadors. With 5:25 to play, a Claire Killian three-pointer sparked a 13-4 spurt that would put the game out of CSUN's reach. Omaha's Amber Vidal scored 10 of her team high 18 points in the final frame as Omaha made 10-of-14 field goal attempts.

"At the end of the day, to win close games, you must get stops and take care of the basketball," said CSUN head coach Jason Flowers. "At times, down the stretch we gave the basketball away and we didn't execute on the defensive end."

Vaccher and Killian each added 17 for the Mavericks. Fluker scored a game high 23 points. The 6-4 center was 9-of-13 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. She grabbed a game high eight rebounds and made two steals. CSUN outrebounded Omaha (8-4) 39-27, 11-5 on the offensive glass. CSUN shot 43.1% (25-of-58) from the floor while Omaha shot 42.1% (23-of-54) from the field.

"I thought Amber Vidal was the difference in the game," Flowers continued. "She had the ball in her hands for all 39 minutes in which she played. She made plays down the stretch. They made some timely three's in the fourth quarter. We will take a couple of days off and come back and get ready to play on the 28th."

The Matadors (5-7) return to the Blacktop @ The Matadome on Dec. 28 when CSUN hosts Biola (2-7). Coverage on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health begins at 2 p.m.

~www.GoMatadors.com~

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Team Stats

Channon Fluker

Tessa Boagni

Claudia Ramos

Meghann Henderson

Players Mentioned

Tessa Boagni

Channon Fluker