Boagni's 36 Leads CSUN Rally Past Fullerton

FULLERTON, Calif.—Tessa Boagni scored a career high 36 points as CSUN rallied being down by nine in the second half as the Matadors defeated Cal State Fullerton 70-68 Saturday night in CSUN's Big West Conference opener.

In a first quarter in which the teams combined to commit 15 fouls, the Matadors held the Titans without a field goal over the final 5:23 to take a 19-14 lead. Boagni went to free throw line eight times, making seven attempts on her way to 14 points.

Boagni scored six of the first eight CSUN points of the second quarter as the Matadors pulled out to a nine-point lead. CSUN went cold, making two of its final 12 shots of the first half while the Titans would make 10-of-15. Cal State Fullerton would end up outscoring the Matadors 22-6 over the final 9:24 of opening frame to take a 36-29 lead into halftime.

With Cal State Fullerton leading 43-35 early in the third quarter, CSUN called a timeout. The Matadors charged out of the time out with a pair of three-pointers from Claudia Ramos and Hayley Tanabe to help cut the lead to 46-44 at the third quarter media timeout. CSUN had two chances to tie the score but could not convert. China Henderson's three-pointer pushed the lead to 49-44. The teams exchanged baskets. At 53-48, Hayley Tanabe drove the basket for a layup. She was fouled. Tanabe missed. Boagni got the rebound. Her put back was no good. Tanabe got the board and was fouled. She made 1-of-2 free throws to create a 53-51 score after 30 minutes.

Freshman Juliana Louis made the first three-pointer of her career to give CSUN a 54-53 lead 40 seconds into the fourth quarter. Both defenses kept their counterparts off the scoreboard until a Tanabe jumper at 7:15. Tanabe followed with a three-point field that made it 59-53 with 6:16 to go. Daeja Smith drew a foul on Boagni with just over six to play. She missed her first free throw attempt before making the second. The Titans called timeout to set their defense.

CSUN went inside for Boagni who came away with a layup to break the 30-point threshold. The Matadors got a stop which resulted in a Boagni putback and a 63-54 lead. Boagni made it six in a row with a layup at 3:55. Jade Vega put down the first Titans' field goal of the fourth quarter 30 seconds later. Vega drew a foul on Tanabe at the 2:45 mark. She missed the first throw attempt, but the second created a 65-57 game.

Boagni drew a double team the next time down, but she found Eliza Matthews underneath for a layup and a 10-point advantage. The teams kept each other at bay until 49.8 seconds to go when Carolyn Gill made two free throws to cut the CSUN lead to 67-61. Three fouls under the limit, Cal State Fullerton fouled Tanabe twice, as 23 seconds came off the clock. Taylor Nate was fouled with 23.1 seconds remaining. CSUN ran five seconds off before Tanabe was fouled and went to the free throw line. The 5-4-point guard connected on both for a 69-61 score. As eight seconds came off the clock, Vega made a three-pointer in the right corner to cut the lead to 69-64. The Titans called timeout before the Matadors did the same to advance the ball.

CSUN inbounded the ball which ended up in Boagni's hands. She sank the first but missed the second. Cal State Fullerton got the rebound with 8.6 remaining, down by six. Vega hit a three-pointer from beyond what would be the NBA three-point line to reduce the CSUN advantage to 70-67. The Matadors called timeout to advance the ball. To further set their offense, the Matadors called their final timeout.

Cal State Fullerton forced a CSUN turnover and called their final timeout with 2.8 seconds remaining. The Titans advanced the ball to in front of their bench. The Matadors elected to foul Hannah Thompson. She made the first. Thompson missed the second on purpose. The ball ended up I the hands of Triann Thompson. Thompson drove the lane for a layup. She missed the tying basket at the buzzer.

Boagni reset her career highs with 14 made free throws and 16 free throw attempts. The 6-2 forward was 11-of-21 from the field. She completed her ninth career double-double with 10 rebounds. Tanabe scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. She also led the Matadors with four assists. Triann Thompson and Vega both scored 15 to pace the Titans (6-8, 1-1 Big West).

"Tessa was big time today," said CSUN head coach Jason Flowers. "She stepped up and gave us a post-presence with Channon out. The numbers speak for themselves. Hats off to Fullerton," Flowers said. "They did a good job in preparing his team and they have been competing well the last four or five games. I wasn't happy with our execution for most of the first half and late in the second. We must understand the importance of every single possession on both ends of the floor. We have to be better on Thursday."

The Matadors were without the services of their leading scorer, Channon Fluker, who sat out the game due to an ankle injury. CSUN (8-7, 1-0 BWC) host UC Santa Barbara (5-9, 2-0 BWC) Thursday night. Coverage on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health begins at 7 p.m.

~www.GoMatadors.com~

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Team Stats

Tessa Boagni

Hayley Tanabe

Eliza Matthews

Juliana Louis

Players Mentioned

Tessa Boagni

Channon Fluker

Juliana Louis

Eliza Matthews

Taylor Nate

Claudia Ramos

Hayley Tanabe