CSUN Drops 58-42 Decision To USC

LOS ANGELES—USC defeated CSUN 58-42 in women's basketball action Sunday afternoon in the Galen Center.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: USC 58, CSUN 42,
LOCATION: Galen Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
RECORDS: USC 9-0, CSUN 5-7.

HOW IT HAPPENED

A pair of Channon Fluker field goals gave CSUN an early 4-3 advantage. The Women of Troy responded with five straight to lead by four at the first quarter media timeout. Out of the timeout, the Matadors scored seven straight to regain the lead.
A Mairya Moore three-pointer tied the game before a CSUN turnover resulted in a Minyon Moore layup in transition. Each team only made five field goas in the first quarter, but three of the USC's baskets were from three-point range as the Women of Troy ended up leading 15-13 after 10 minutes.
The Women of Troy opened the second on a 13-4 run that gave USC a 13-point lead four minutes into the period. The Matadors responded with a 6-0 spurt that made it 28-21 at the second quarter media timeout. CSUN extended the run to 14-0 to take a 29-28 lead on a Fluker basket with 1:23 to go in the first half.
Shalexxus Aaron's free throws seven seconds later pushed USC ahead by one. After a Matadors' turnover, Aaron made a three to extend the lead to 33-29. Fluker responded with a short jumper giving USC the final possession of the half.
Cheyanne Wallace drove the lane where Fluker blocked the shot resulting in a USC team turnover. Fluker was 7-of-10 from the field (14 points) in the first half as CSUN trailed by two, 33-31 at half.
The Matadors missed each of the nine field goal attempts that CSUN attempted in the third quarter. The Matadors turned the ball over nine times. USC would score all 10 points of the third to lead 43-31 with 30 minutes gone.
Fluker broke the scoreless string with a mid-range jumper 33 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Matadors would be held to 6-of-19 shooting in the second half as the Women of Troy would remain undefeated on the season.

FOR CSUN

Fluker recorded her 64th career double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds. She added five blocks and now has moved into sole possession of 11th place in Big West history with 1,808 career points.

FOR USC

The Women of Troy forced 15 second half CSUN turnovers and 22 for the game. USC limited the Matadors to 35.4% shooting for the game (17-48). The Women of Troy would only make 20-61 from the field, which ended up 32.8% shooting.
Marilya Moore paced USC in scoring with 17 points. Minyon Moore scored 11 while Aiyah Mazyck added 10.

ACCORDING TO COACH JASON FLOWERS

"I thought for the most part, our zone defense was the best it has been all season today. I think they average over 70 points per game, but they were only able to score 58. In the first half, we did a much better job of executing in the half court. In the third quarter it just got away from us. It was very similar to our Cal game. We play hard for 20 minutes, but we have to understand that we have to match their intensity for all 40. We have to figure out that when you play a good team such as USC, such as Cal, you can't have lull on both ends of the floor."
"On the positive side, it would have been easy for us to give up. After not scoring in the third quarter, we only gave up 10 points in the third. We started to execute much better in the fourth, shooting 50% in the fourth. We have to be more consistent throughout."

The Matadors return to action next Wednesday night when CSUN hosts San José State (1-8). Eric Kaback will anchor the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

~www.GoMatadors.com~

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Team Stats

Channon Fluker

Eliza Matthews

Claudia Ramos

Serafina Maulupe

Players Mentioned

Channon Fluker