Matadors Drop Road Contest Against Fresno State

Fresno, Calif -- CSUN Women's Basketball fell 90-73 on the road to the Fresno State Bulldogs on Friday night at the Save Mart Center. Junior Erika Aspajo led all Matador scorers with 14 points on the night.

Two more Matadors scored in double figures as well, as Erica Adams tallied 11 points with eight coming in the third quarter. Karsen Marshall was lights out from deep in the fourth, as she went 4-6 from beyond the arc in the final quarter to bring her total to 12.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Nnenna Orji got on the board first for the Matadors with a cutting layup thanks to an assist from Aspajo. A Morgan Edwards jump shot gave CSUN its first lead at 4-3.

The Bulldogs would then go on a 16-0 run thanks to a barrage of three pointers.

Mariah Elohim went 3-3 from three to start the game. CSUN would stop the run via a made free throw from Edwards.

Turnovers would be the story early as CSUN had five of them in the first nine minutes.

Aspajo drove in for a layup to cut the Bulldogs lead to 10 at 20-10. The first period would end at 25-10.

Fresno State was hot from deep as they shot 50% (6-12) from three in the first quarter.

CSUN would start the 2nd quarter on a layup from Aspajo who was quickly turning into one of the leading scorers for the road team. She ended the first half with eight points. The Bulldogs would start the quarter going 4-7 and 3-4 from deep. CSUN started the quarter going 3-5 from the field before the first media timeout.

Edwards hit a floater to cut the lead to 42-22 with 2:40 left.

In a half filled with solid defense from both teams, CSUN would force 10 turnovers in the first half, and Fresno State would force 13. The defense from the Matadors resulted in Fresno State being held scoreless from the field for the final 3:02 of the half. The score would end up being 43-22 going into the break.

Edwards and Aspajo accounted for 16 out of the 22 points from CSUN, eight points each.

2ND HALF

The third quarter was the highest scoring quarter so far for both teams, CSUN tallied 20 points, led by Adams who had nine points in the period. A turnaround jumper from Adams and a layup from Aspajo cut the lead to 18 before a timeout called by Fresno State. A couple made free throws from the Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 20.

Fresno state junior Mariah Elohim would be an x-factor for FSU, she tallied 20 points with 4:42 left in the third. She would finish with 23. Fresno State was efficient from the floor, making five out of its first seven shots.

The third quarter was the highest scoring quarter so far for both teams, CSUN tallied 20 points, led by Adams who had nine points in the period.

Fresno State would end the third on a 68-42 lead.

CSUN would not go down without a fight, as the fourth quarter was one of the best played quarters for the Matadors all season. The Matadors began the final quarter on an 8-0 run. Kelly Tumlin got on the board with a three and made three free throws to start the scoring.

A steal and a fast-break layup by Tumlin cut the lead down to 18 as she quickly had eight points in the period.

Fresno State was able to climb the lead back up before a Karsen Marshall three to make it 78-55. Marshall, the freshman from Wildomar, hit four bullseyes from beyond the arc as CSUN outscored the Bulldogs 31-22 in the 4th. With 31 points, it was the highest scoring quarter of the season so far for the Matadors.

The second half proved to be the better half. CSUN at one point went on a 10-0 run thanks to hot shooting from Marshall and Jenna Kilty, cutting the lead to 13 late in the game at 83-70. However, Fresno State was able to hold on for the victory.

The 31-point 4th quarter was the Matadors' highest scoring quarter all season, eclipsing the 24 scored in the 4th quarter against Utah State (11/08/24)
CSUN held Fresno State's second leading scorer on the season Kylee Fox to just five points on the night
Marshall accounted for half of all the three pointers made by the Matadors with every shot coming in the fourth.
Aspajo has scored in double figures in three straight games.
Mariah Elohim for the Bulldogs led all scorers with 23 points.

ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH ANGIE NED
"We did not play well as a team and the outcome was the result of that."

UP NEXT
CSUN continues its road trip against San Jose State on Sunday, Nov. 24. The game will take place at Provident Credit Union Event Center at 2 p.m.

Matadors Drop Road Contest Against Fresno State

Next Event

Team Stats

Erika Aspajo

Karsen Marshall

Erica Adams

Kelly Tumlin

Players Mentioned

Erica Adams

Erika Aspajo

Morgan Edwards

Jenna Kilty

Karsen Marshall

Nnenna Orji

Kelly Tumlin

Players Mentioned

Erica Adams

Erika Aspajo

Morgan Edwards

Jenna Kilty

Karsen Marshall

Nnenna Orji

Kelly Tumlin