Matadors Open Up Final Week with 68-58 Win Over UC Irvine

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Basketball (16-13, 10-5 BWC) won its four-straight home game, defeating UC Irvine 68-58 on Wednesday evening at The Matadome. The win moves the Matadors a half-game ahead of UC Riverside (9-8 BWC) for second place in the league standings as CSUN looks to earn a double bye to the Big West Tournament semifinals at the Honda Center next week.

FOR CSUN

Senior Channon Fluker posted her 74th double-double of her career, finishing with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds to go with two blocks. Fluker also made 8-of-12 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Meghann Henderson added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds while junior Eliza Matthews chipped in with 10 points and seven boards.
CSUN held UCI to six points in two different quarters as well as just two field goals in the second period (2-of-12). The Matadors have now held opponents to six points or fewer in 11 quarters this season.
The Matadors shot 39.7 percent from the field and hit 9-of-23 from 3-point range (39.1 percent). The Anteaters (17-10, 7-8 BWC) would shoot 39.6 percent and make 10-of-23 from 3-point range (43.5 percent).

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Anteaters came out quickly, making 7-of-9 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Matadors looked up at a 25-14 deficit after 10 minutes. CSUN would shoot 5-of-17 in the period (29.4 percent), led by five points from Fluker. CSUN held a narrow 9-8 lead with 6:51 to go in the period before the Anteaters went on a 17-5 run to close the quarter.
CSUN made adjusments defensively in the second quarter and found its groove offensively. Fluker scored the Matadors' first six points of the period while Hayley Tanabe drilled a 3-pointer to bring the Matadors within 25-23. Fluker converted on an old-fashioned 3-pointer to give the Matadors the lead and Tanabe capped off a 15-0 run with another 3-pointer at the 5:12 mark. Destiny Brooks would give the Matadors their biggest lead at 38-26 later in the period before a 3-pointer from Haleigh Talbert made it a 36-31 game at halftime.
In a high-scoring third period, UCI pulled to within 36-34 on the first play of the second half but the Matadors remained in front throughout. CSUN knocked down 3-of-5 from 3-point range including a shot from Brooks that pushed the lead to 48-40. The Anteaters earned their way to the free throw line 10 times, converting on nine attempts but the Matadors shot 46.7 percent from the field to stay in front. The lead shrunk down to 55-52 with six seconds left before Henderson took the ball the length of the court and scored at the horn.
UCI knocked down the first shot of the fourth period, but the Matadors scored the next nine points to extend to a 66-54 lead. Fluker scored six of her team's 11 fourth-quarter points while adding two blocks. The Matadors allowed six points in the period and just one field goal over the last 5:42 of the game. Fluker would push the lead to 68-56 on a layup at the 3:26 mark. CSUN's defense did the rest as the Matadors won for the fifth times in six games.

ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH JASON FLOWERS
"I thought we had balance [offensively]. Obviously, we took advantage of some mismatches early on, we got the ball inside. I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half. Ending the game with 21 offensive rebounds, that's a big number. We had three kids in double figures, we had one with nine (Hayley Tanabe) and another one with eight (Serafina Maulupe). If we can do that then we become a problem as far as how teams have to match up."

UP NEXT
The Matadors host Senior Day on Saturday against Hawai'i to close the regular season. Tip off is slated for 4 p.m. With UC Riverside scheduled to host the Rainbow Wahine on Thursday night and visit Cal State Fullerton Saturday, the Matadors could advance to the Big West Tournament semifinals (March 15) outright should they finish in second place in the conference. Otherwise, the Matadors would earn a bye to second round of the tournament on Wednesday, March 13 held at UC Irvine.

Players Mentioned

Destiny Brooks

Channon Fluker

Meghann Henderson

Eliza Matthews

Serafina Maulupe

Hayley Tanabe