CSUN Hosts California Baptist for Wednesday Night Battle

Game Notes
NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Women's Basketball (2-6, 0-2 Big West) is set to square off against the California Baptist Lancers (1-9) Wednesday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Jill Painter-Lopez on the call.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN opened Big West play on the road against UC Riverside on Dec. 5. The Matadors would go on to fall to the Highlanders 72-48 at SRC Arena. Morgan Edwards would lead CSUN in scoring with a career-high 14 points. Jenna Kilty followed right behind her with 13 points.

CSUN secured an early 7-2 lead before UC Riverside went on an 18-0 run. The Highlanders ultimately ended the quarter with a 27-9 lead. The CSUN defense did improve things going into the second quarter, holding UC Riverside to 33% shooting from the field.

CSUN's defense was also impactful from distance as UC Riverside, despite its lead, only hit three three-point shots at the end of the half. The Matador shooting struggles did continue however, as they were unable to hit a three in the quarter. The score was 45-19 heading into the break.

In the second half, the Matadors had their highest scoring quarter as they ended with 18 in the third. UC Riverside would keep up with CSUN by scoring 17. In the fourth quarter CSUN outscored UC Riverside for the second consecutive quarter at 11-10. Ultimately, the Matadors couldn't catch up on the scoreboard as the final tally was 72-48 in favor of the Highlanders.

For its second game, CSUN hosted Cal Poly on Saturday afternoon for its Big West home opener. The Mustangs got the better of the Matadors as Cal Poly won 58-45. Senior Erica Adams and Edwards led the Matadors in scoring as each had 11. Alondra Lizama posted a career high with seven points. Yves Cox added seven points as well.

The Mustangs ended the first quarter on an 8-0 run. The scoreboard read 18-10 heading into the second. Five different CSUN players accounted for the team's 10 points.

In the second, Cal Poly widened its lead before a couple layups from Lizama got the score to 29-16 at the 5:22 mark. Defense would be story for the rest of the second as both teams didn't score until there was 2:58 remaining, as Cal Poly's Sierra Lichtie drove in for a layup. CSUN would add three more points as the score was 31-19 heading into the halftime break.

In the third quarter, things got started with an Edwards three pointer to get the lead within single digits at 31-22 at the 9:21 mark. Both teams traded buckets until Lizama hit her first career three pointer which made the score 36-29. After going scoreless from deep in the first half, the Matadors drained two from distance in the third. The Matadors upped their defense on the perimeter as the Mustangs went 0-4 from three in the third. CSUN would outscore Cal Poly 16-14 in the third period, but the lead was still at 10 heading into the final quarter.

In the final quarter, free throws accounted for a majority of CSUN's scoring, as the Matadors drew fouls and went 8-11 from the charity stripe. Despite going 1-11 from the field, CSUN was only outscored by three, 13-10, in the fourth. The final period was the worst period shooting percentage wise for the Mustangs, as Cal Poly only shot 33%. CSUN ultimately couldn't overcome the deficit as the final scoreboard read 58-45.

HITTING SHOTS FROM DISTANCE
CSUN currently ranks fourth in the Big West with 6.5 threes per contest. Three Matador players have double-digit threes on the year. Kilty has 12, Kelly Tumlin has 11 and freshman Karsen Marshall has 10. Eight out of 12 Matador players have knocked down a shot from behind the arc this season. Kilty also leads the squad in three point percentage with 42.9%.

MATADORS ON THE BOARDS
CSUN currently ranks third in the Big West with 36.6 rebounds per game. Cox, a freshman, leads the team with 48 rebounds on the year as she is averaging six a game. Adams isn't too far behind either, the senior has 44 on the season as she is averaging 5.5 a game. Tumlin is right there as well as she is averaging 5.4 per game.

COACH NED VS FAMILIAR FOE
As CSUN squares off against California Baptist, head coach Angie Ned is facing her old school as a head coach for the first time. At CBU, she spent the past nine seasons as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the Lancers. As a member of the coaching staff, the Lancers amassed a 230-80 overall record while winning the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season and tournament championships in 2023-24 and 2020-21.

SCOUTING CAL BAPTIST
The Lancers come into the contest with a 1-9 record after earning its first win last week against Saint Mary's 71-68 on Dec. 7. California Baptist and CSUN share two previous opponents as the Lancers like the Matadors have fallen to the USC Women of Troy (on Dec. 3) and Pepperdine 74-65 (Nov. 16).

CBU is led in scoring by Grace Schmidt who is averaging 13.8 PPG. Schmidt, the junior, also leads the team in rebounding with 7.8 boards.

Anaiyah Tu'ua, the former Matador, led the Lancers in scoring against Saint Mary's with 20 points. She also had eight assists.

Series History - CSUN has only faced CBU on three different occasions. The Matadors lead the series 2-1. The last time these two teams squared off was on Nov. 9, 2019. The Lancers bested CSUN 64-56.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Hosts California Baptist for Wednesday Night Battle

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Players Mentioned

Erica Adams

Yves Cox

Morgan Edwards

Jenna Kilty

Alondra Lizama

Karsen Marshall

Kelly Tumlin