Boagni Leads 4 In Double Figures As CSUN Defeats Cal Poly 86-66

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.— Tessa Bogani led four CSUN players in double figures as the Matadors defeated Cal Poly 86-66 Saturday afternoon in Big West Conference women's basketball action. The CSUN win broke a three-game losing streak dating back to Feb. 3 against UC Davis.

"It was a much-needed win," said CSUN head coach Jason Flowers. "More from a psychological standpoint than anything else. We aim to get better, but for a week and half, we didn''t do that. Today was regaining our composure to focus on the things we need to be successful."

Cal Poly opened the game on 12-2 run. Dynn Leaupepe and Mary Kate Evans combined to score the first 19 points for the Mustangs as Cal Poly led 22-18 at the first quarter break. CSUN limited the Mustangs to four field goals in the second quarter as the Matadors took their first lead of the opening stanza with 1:32 to play on a Channon Fluker free throw. Boagni, who was 6-of-6 from the field in the first half, made a layup 38 seconds later to send CSUN into a 35-32 lead at halftime.

The Matadors used their height advantage to take a 58-44 lead after three quarter. CSUN went to free throw line 17 times in the third, making 14 attempts. The Matadors tamed the Mustangs from the field, limiting Cal Poly to 22.2% shooting (4-of-18).

An 8-2 spurt to start the fourth quarter put CSUN up by 17, 69-52, with 5:52 to play. Back-to-back Evans three-pointers cut the Matadors' advantage to 11. The Mustangs chipped away and got the lead down to eight when Gabby Grupalo made a pair of free throws with just over four minutes to go. CSUN went to Channon Fluker and she responded with a free throw line jumper that ignited the final Matadors' burst which turned out to be a 16-2 stretch that was capped off by a pair of Fluker free throws at the 36-second mark.

The Matadors went to the free throw line 49 times, making 38 (77.6%). The Mustangs would make 11-of-13 free throw attempts on the day. The teams combined for 53 fouls, 35 for Cal Poly. CSUN limited the Mustangs (14-11, 8-5 Big West) to 34.3% shooting (23-of-67) while the Matadors were 47.8% from the field (22-of-46).

"We spend quite of bit of time focusing on shooting in practice," Flowers said. "I think once you feel comfortable with your shot, then free throws are a matter of doing the same routine every single time. I thought our kids did a good job of getting to the free throw line and once they were there, they made their shots."

Boagni was 10-of-10 from the charity stripe and became the seventh CSUN player in the Matadors' Division I era to go at least 10-of-10 from the free throw line in game. Bogani would make her first seven field goal attempts and would end the game with a team high 26 points.

Claudia Ramos would go 9-of-11 from the free throw line as she scored 20 points. Fluker earned her 50th career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The 6-4 center would go 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. Meghann Henderson reached double figures for the third time this year with 11 points. Leaupepe scored a game high 29 points, but she was only 10-of-30 from the field. Evans scored 15 points, all five of her field goals coming from three-point range.

"Tessa was huge," Flowers said. "In the games when she contributes like that on the offensive end our record is pretty good. Claudia shot the ball well for us. It wasn't just about throwing the ball inside to Channon, it was taking advantage of what the defense was able to give us."

CSUN (14-13, 7-6 Big West) hosts Hawai'i (10-14, 3-8 Big West) Thursday night. The CSUN Sports Network coverage begins with Eric Kaback's pre-game show at 6:55 p.m. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

~www.GoMatadors.com~

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Team Stats

Tessa Boagni

Claudia Ramos

Channon Fluker

Meghann Henderson

Players Mentioned

Channon Fluker

Meghann Henderson

Claudia Ramos