Thursday, December 28
Northridge, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
2-9,0-1Big West
43
vs
68
Cal Poly
5-6,1-0Big West
1
2
3
4
F
Cal Poly
23
12
18
15
68
CSUN
15
4
17
7
43
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Drops Big West Opener to Cal Poly
12/28/2023 8:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Basketball dropped its Big West opener to Cal Poly 68-43 on Thursday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Amiyah Ferguson scored a game-high 16 points with three rebounds. CSUN trimmed a 22-point deficit to 11 near the end of the third quarter, but the Mustangs took control with a key 9-0 run and never looked back.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ana Carolina De Jesus gave CSUN an early lift with seven consecutive points for a 7-2 lead. Talo Li-Uperesa knocked down a three at the 5:32 mark for a 12-9 lead, however, CSUN went scoreless over the next five-plus minutes. Cal Poly took advantage by going on a 14-0 run, closed by a 3-pointer from Mary Carter. Amiyah Ferguson would beat the first quarter buzzer with a three of her own as CSUN trailed 23-15 after 10 minutes. In the second period it would be all Cal Poly with the Mustangs beginning the quarter with a 12-2 run. Kayanna Spriggs scored the Matadors' lone field goal in the second quarter with 1:21 on the clock. Cal Poly led 35-19 at intermission.
The deficit would swell to 40-20 on a layup from Sierra Lichtie with 7:59 left in the third period. The Matadors fell behind by 22 points before an 8-0 run, sparked by a pair of steals that cut into the deficit. Carter slowed the Matador run with a three, but Ferguson answered with a trey of her own on the ensuing possession. Ferguson found the bottom of the net again from long range, pulling the Matadors closer at 47-36. However, Shah responded with back-to-back baskets and Natalia Ackerman closed the third period with a basket for a Cal Poly 53-36 advantage. Rachel Harvey made an early field goal in the fourth period to cut the deficit to 56-38, but CSUN never got closer. Cal Poly put together a 10-2 run push the lead to its biggest lead of the game at 26 points.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH CARLENE MITCHELL
"Give Cal Poly a lot of credit. I loved the way they played. They get after it. Not that we don't play hard, but they just do the extra intangible things to make themselves the best team tonight. We tried to press it a little bit more and speed the game up. We were a short bench tonight, so we were hoping to get more points out of transition, which was the reason for pressing. You can't win games, whether you're at home or on the road, when you're giving up more offensive rebounds than you almost have total."
UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up a five-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against Long Beach State. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ana Carolina De Jesus gave CSUN an early lift with seven consecutive points for a 7-2 lead. Talo Li-Uperesa knocked down a three at the 5:32 mark for a 12-9 lead, however, CSUN went scoreless over the next five-plus minutes. Cal Poly took advantage by going on a 14-0 run, closed by a 3-pointer from Mary Carter. Amiyah Ferguson would beat the first quarter buzzer with a three of her own as CSUN trailed 23-15 after 10 minutes. In the second period it would be all Cal Poly with the Mustangs beginning the quarter with a 12-2 run. Kayanna Spriggs scored the Matadors' lone field goal in the second quarter with 1:21 on the clock. Cal Poly led 35-19 at intermission.
The deficit would swell to 40-20 on a layup from Sierra Lichtie with 7:59 left in the third period. The Matadors fell behind by 22 points before an 8-0 run, sparked by a pair of steals that cut into the deficit. Carter slowed the Matador run with a three, but Ferguson answered with a trey of her own on the ensuing possession. Ferguson found the bottom of the net again from long range, pulling the Matadors closer at 47-36. However, Shah responded with back-to-back baskets and Natalia Ackerman closed the third period with a basket for a Cal Poly 53-36 advantage. Rachel Harvey made an early field goal in the fourth period to cut the deficit to 56-38, but CSUN never got closer. Cal Poly put together a 10-2 run push the lead to its biggest lead of the game at 26 points.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN falls to 2-9 overall and 0-1 in Big West play while Cal Poly improves to 5-6 with a 1-0 Big West mark.
- The Matadors finished shooting 32.1 percent from the floor while going 6-of-16 from three (37.5 percent) and 3-of-9 from the free throw line (33.3 percent). The Mustangs would shoot 41.9 percent to go with 7-of-21 shooting from three (33.3 percent) and perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the free throw line.
- Cal Poly controlled the glass, out-rebounding CSUN 51-24, highlighted by 18 offensive rebounds. The Mustangs also led 34-14 in points in the paint.
- Ana Carolina De Jesus had a season-high nine points on 4-of-8 shooting.
- Kayanna Spriggs led CSUN in rebounding with five to go with five points.
- Amiyah Ferguson finished 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
ACCORDING TO COACH CARLENE MITCHELL
"Give Cal Poly a lot of credit. I loved the way they played. They get after it. Not that we don't play hard, but they just do the extra intangible things to make themselves the best team tonight. We tried to press it a little bit more and speed the game up. We were a short bench tonight, so we were hoping to get more points out of transition, which was the reason for pressing. You can't win games, whether you're at home or on the road, when you're giving up more offensive rebounds than you almost have total."
UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up a five-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against Long Beach State. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
CPO
CSUN
FG%
.419
.321
3FG%
.333
.375
FT%
1.000
.333
RB
51
24
TO
18
15
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballCSUN-UCSD Highlights
Monday, February 20
WBB-San Diego State at CSUN
Sunday, December 09
Women's Basketball-Loyola Marymount at CSUN
Friday, December 07
Women's Basketball-California Baptist at CSUN
Wednesday, November 28