California State University at Northridge
UC Santa Barbara
CSUN Ventures on to the Road to Face UCSB, UC Riverside
2/8/2017 10:11:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Matadors Face Gauchos, Highlanders in Big West Action
Game Notes (PDF)
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN women's basketball team (11-11, 4-4 Big West Conference) hits the road for a pair of Big West Conference games this week as the league campaign continues. The Matadors open the week with a contest at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in The Thunderdome. Two days later, CSUN travels to the Inland Empire to square off with UC Riverside at the SRC Arena for a 5 p.m. match-up. Both games will feature Mark Roberts calling all the action on the CSUN Sports Network and links for all multimedia services will be available on the women's basketball schedule page at GoMatadors.com.
Last week, CSUN turned in a pair of impressive performances in defeating Long Beach State and Hawai'i at The Matadome. Against the 49ers, CSUN overcame a four-point halftime deficit and sophomore Channon Fluker recorded the second 20-20 game in the program's Division I history by finishing with 22 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.
Two days later, sophomore Claudia Ramos erupted for a season-high 17 points and four 3-pointers as the Matadors pulled away from the Rainbow Wahine in the second half. Fluker added 20 points and 14 rebounds in the victory and collected her third Big West Player of the Week honors on Feb. 6 after averaging 21 points and 17 rebounds in the two games.Â
This week offers two more opportunities for CSUN to move up in the Big West standings. CSUN closes out it season series with the Gauchos on Thursday. The Matadors took the first meeting 75-61 as Serafina Maulupe scored a career-high 28 points and Cheyenne Allen finished with a career-high 21 points.Â
Two days later, CSUN makes the trek to face the defending Big West Champions in the Highlanders. UCR features a senior-laden line-up and swept the season series with the Matadors last year. CSUN head coach Jason Flowers and associate head coach Lindsey Foster both spent multiple seasons as an assistant coach for the Highlanders and head coach John Margaritis.Â
The Chairwoman of the Boards
- Sophomore Channon Fluker became the first rookie to earn Big West First Team honors since 2002 last season.
- Recorded 14 double-doubles in 2016-17; averaging team-high 15.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game
- Leads Big West in rebounding for the season and in conference games (11.6); also leads Big West in blocks (54)
- Ranks eighth in NCAA Division I as of Feb. 6 with 251 rebounds this year; 11.4 average ranks seventh
- Grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds to go with 22 points in CSUN's home win over Long Beach State
- Posted 20 points and 14 rebounds in home win over Hawai'i; named Big West Player of the Week for third timeÂ
- Finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks in home win over UCSB
- Grabbed 19 rebounds to go with 20 points in win at Seattle; named Big West Player of the Week for second time
- Posted a season-high 32 points and 12 field goals to go with a career high 19 rebounds in win at Weber State
- Posted 23 points and 14 rebounds in four-point loss to No. 19 Michigan State on Nov. 26; first Big West Player of the WeekÂ
- Finished with 19 rebounds at Fresno State, CSUN's first win in series since 1975
Maulupe's Moments
- Junior Serafina Maulupe scored a career-high 28 points and 10 field goals in the home win over UCSB.Â
- Averaging 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game; ranks 10th in Big West in scoring
- Named Big West Player of the Week on Jan. 30 after performance vs. UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 25Â
- Leads Matadors in scoring in Big West action, averaging 15.3 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the field
- Finished with 25 points and a career-high 11 free throws in Jan. 21 contest vs. Cal Poly.Â
- Tied a career high with five 3-pointers at Washington and in home win over Cal State Fullerton
- Ranked second in the Big West Conference with an average of 2.4 3-pointers per game.
- Scored 23 points in CSUN's win at Saint Mary's, knocking down seven free throws
- Finished with 20 points in win at NAU and has scored in double-figures 16 times this season
- Leads CSUN with 53 3-pointers this year, second-most in Big West and ninth-most in program history for a season
Allen Wrenches OppositionÂ
- Sophomore Cheyenne Allen came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points in win vs. UCSB.
- Averaging 5.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game
- Tied a career high with eight assists to go with eight points and two 3-pointers against Long Beach State
- Added a career-high eight free throws and finished 6-of-9 from the field with nine rebounds vs. UCSB
- Came off the bench to score 14 points and six field goals in win at NAU
- Dished out six assists and had career-high three 3-pointers in home win over Cal State Fullerton
- Averaged 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the season as a freshman
Scouting UC Santa Barbara
- The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos enter Thursday's contest with an 11-11 overall record and 6-3 mark in Big West play
- Earlier this season, the Matadors defeated the Gauchos 75-61 at The Matadome on Jan. 25
- UCSB features five players averaging between 9.0 and 9.8 points per game for the season
- In Big West play, Sarah Porter leads the team in scoring at 11.4 ppg while shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range
- Drea Toler is second on the team with 11.2 ppg and has a team-high 39 assists against league opposition
- Drew Edelman is averaging 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in nine Big West contests
- As a team, UCSB is shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from 3-point range for the season
- The Gauchos average 34 rebounds, 15.4 assists and 16.3 turnovers per game for the year
- The Gauchos average 32.4 rebounds, 16.4 assists and 13.9 turnovers per game in Big West play
Scouting UC Riverside
- The UC Riverside Highlanders enter the week with a 12-10 overall record and a 6-3 mark in the Big West play
- The Highlanders play at Hawai'i on Wednesday, Feb. 8 before hosting CSUN on Saturday, Feb. 11
- Rejane Verin leads UCR in scoring (16.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg) for the season
- Simone DeCoud is second on the team in scoring for the year, averaging 11.7 ppg
- Lauren Holt leads the squad with 38 3-pointers and is averaging 11.5 ppgÂ
- Verin is averaging 17.3 ppg while Holt checks in at 11.4 ppg in nine Big West games
- As a team, UCR averages 35.5 rebounds, 16.3 assists and 13.9 turnovers per game for the season
- In Big West action, UCR averages 39.6 rebounds, 15.9 assists and 13.4 turnovers per gameÂ
