Cal State Fullerton Defeats CSUN 61-53

FULLERTON, Calif.—Cal State Fullerton defeated CSUN 61-53 in Big West Women's Basketball action Saturday night at Titan Gym.

FIRST HALF
Cal State Fullerton led by as many as nine in the first quarter thanks to a 4-of-7 three-point shooting performance during the opening 10 minutes. Jordyn Jackson scored nine in the first period as the Matadors closed the gap to 20-14 as the frame closed. Tess Amundsen's three-pointer 42 seconds into the second quarter reduced the Titans' lead to three. The Matadors went cold, missing their next seven shots. CSUN would not score for almost seven minutes. The Matador defense kept CSUN in the game. Cal State Fullerton would only go 2-for-11 (both made field goals were three-pointers) from the field in the second quarter.

However, the Titans drew five shooting fouls against the Matadors in the second. Cal State Fullerton would get to the free throw line 10 times, making eight attempts. The Titans would lead by as many as 13 in the first half before ending up with a 34-23 advantage at halftime. Cal State Fullerton drew five shooting fouls against the Matadors (who committed a total of six during the second) which allowed the Titans to get to the free throw line 10 times. Cal State Fullerton was 8-of-10 from the charity stripe as the Titans took their largest lead of the frame, 29-17, with 3:21 to go in the first half. Cal State Fullerton led 34-23 at halftime.

SECOND HALF
A pair of Amundsen three-pointers helped the Matadors reduce the Titans' lead to eight, 40-32, midway through the third quarter. Cal State Fullerton responded with back-to-back baskets from Aixhel Hernandez and Carilyn Gill to put the lead back into double figures as a timeout came on the floor with 3:26 remaining. Amundsen scored five straight for the Matadors to cut it to 46-38 in favor of the Titans with just over a minute to play. Jackson's jumper at the 11-second mark further reduced the lead but a pair of Lily Wahinekapu free throws created a 48-40 score as the teams headed into the fourth.

With the Matadors threatening, Wahinekapu made a long three-pointer which put the Titans up 53-42. Ashlee Lewis' layup coming off a CSUN turnover increased the advantage to 55-42. Amundsen broke a 2+ minute scoring drought with her fifth three-pointer of the night. CSUN trailed 57-45 at the fourth quarter media timeout which came with 4:19 to go. The Matadors used an 8-3 spurt to cut the lead to 60-53 when Jackson drove the lane for a layup with 28 seconds left. CSUN was forced to foul. The Titans were only 2-of-4 from the free throw line which kept CSUN within striking range. The Matadors failed to make three field goal attempts in the final 20 seconds with the score going final at 61-53.

ACCORDING TO INTERIM HEAD COACH CARLENE MITCHELL
"I didn't feel that we came out with the energy you must have to win on the road. We allowed Fullerton to dictate the tempo of the game which took away our ability to score in transition."

"A positive note is we got solid minutes from Michelle with seven rebounds and three assists. Rachel helped us pick up our defensive energy in the second half which our team feeds off."

"We must regroup quickly as we have four games in eight days, and everyone is battling for tournament positioning down the stretch."

THE NUMBERS
After scoring 32 at Long Beach State on Thursday night, Amundsen registered a game-high 22. She was 7-of-11 from the floor, 5-of-6 from three-point range, and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Jackson scored a season-high 21 points as she was 8-of-14 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Michelle Duchemin scored five points, grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, dished out a team-high three assists, and made two steals.

Cal State Fullerton's (10-13, 5-8 Big West) leading scorer was Wahinekapu. She scored 14. Gabi Vidmar charted 10. After making four of their first seven three-point field goal attempts, Cal State Fullerton was 3-of-9 the rest of the way. Overall, the Titans were 20-of-46 from the floor (43.5%). CSUN shot 39.5% (17-of-43) for the game. CSUN went 12-of-17 from the free throw line. Cal State Fullerton was 14-of-20. The Matadors outrebounded the Titans 30-26.

UP NEXT
CSUN (9-14, 5-8 Big West) hosts UC Davis (12-10, 6-6 Big West) Thursday night. Coverage on ESPN+ begins at 7 p.m. with Jill Painter Lopez on the call.

~#UniteTheValley~

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Team Stats

Tess Amundsen

Jordyn Jackson

Michelle Duchemin

Sydney Woodley

Players Mentioned

Tess Amundsen

Michelle Duchemin

Jordyn Jackson