CSUN Sets Sights on Cal Poly and UCSB

Game Notes

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Basketball (2-19, 0-11 Big West) continues Big West play with a road game against Cal Poly and a home game against UC Santa Barbara. CSUN will be playing the Mustangs on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m. in the Mott Athletics Center. The Matadors will celebrate Play4Kay Day when they take on the Gauchos on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. in the Premier America Credit Union Arena. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
The Matadors fell to UC San Diego 53-52 on Thursday, Feb. 1, at home. The Tritons went on an early run before Erica Adams and Kayanna Spriggs tied the game. UC San Diego continued to pull ahead throughout the first half as the Matadors fought to stay within a 10-point deficit. CSUN caught a second wind as Adams, Laney Amundsen, Kaitlyn Elsholz, and Li-Uperesa combined to score 18 points in a single quarter. The Matadors kept up their momentum, giving the Tritons a scare as they scored another 18 in the final quarter. The Tritons would take the game as Amundsen nearly hit a game-winner as time expired.

CSUN dropped its away game against UC Riverside 70-46 on Saturday, Feb. 3, at Riverside. The Matadors opened the game, but the Highlanders quickly tied and overtook CSUN. The first quarter was a battle, but UC Riverside took it 17-9. The Matadors tried to regain their lost ground but were unable to close the distance.

FRESHMEN DUO LEADING OFFENSIVELY
CSUN's true freshmen duo of Amiyah Ferguson and Kaitlyn Elsholz have been force in their first season with CSUN. Ferguson is leading the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game while she has topped the team in scoring a team-best six times. She has also dished out 2.6 assists per game and made 25 threes. Elsholz, who was named Big West Player of the Week on Nov. 13, is averaging 7.5 points and 2.2 rebounds to go with 10 blocks on the year. Elsholz is tied for the most shots made from the 3-point range (26) on the team.

SPRIGGS MANAGING THE BOARDS
Junior forward Kayanna Spriggs has topped CSUN in rebounding in 12 games this season as she has averaged 6.5 per game. Spriggs has pulled down double-figure rebounds in four games this season and collected a pair of double-doubles. She is also second on the team in scoring at 8.9 points while she leads the team in points per game in Big West play (11.3). On the year, Spriggs is tied in most steals per game at 1.2.

NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPRESSION
Junior guard Erica Adams holds the third-highest scoring average for CSUN at 8.2 points this season. A Pacific transfer, Adams is shooting 35.5 percent while averaging 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals. Another new face this season, junior forward Talo Li-Uperesa is leading the team in blocks at 1.1 per game to go with averaging 7.6 points. Li-Uperesa, a transfer from the City of College of San Francisco, is shooting 43.9 percent in 31.5 minutes per game.

MATADORS ON THE BIG WEST CHARTS
Kayanna Spriggs moves up to seventh in The Big West in rebounds per game (6.5) and is eighth in free throw percentage (53.0). Talo Li-Uperesa is tied for third in the league in blocks per game (1.2) while Amiyah Ferguson is tied for eighth in assists per game (2.6) and 17th in 3-point field goals made per game (1.2). Erica Adams is 16th in the league in steals per game at 1.4. As a team, CSUN is third in The Big West in blocks per game (3.4), fourth in steals per game (8.7), and fifth in rebounds per game (35.1).

SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs' overall record is 11-9 and conference record is 7-4. They are coming off a 57-47 win against UC Davis on Saturday afternoon. Cal Poly welcomes seven to its roster, two of which are freshman. Annika Shah leads the team in scoring at 12.2 points while Natalia Ackerman averages 11.8 points. Ackerman is also the top rebounder at 8.0 per game. The Mustangs are led by Shanele Stires, who is in her second season as head coach.

Series History: CSUN leads Cal Poly 44-43 in the all-time series. The teams last met earlier this season when the Mustangs won 68-43 in the Premier America Credit Union Arena. CSUN has won six of the last ten meetings.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos have an overall record of 14-7 and a conference record of 8-3. UC Santa Barbara is coming off a 57-55 win against Cal State Bakersfield. The Gauchos have six new players on the roster, three of whom are freshmen. Senior Alexis Whitfield leads the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game and rebounding with 9.7 per game. Senior Alyssa Marin leads the team in steals per game (1.0) and assists per game (3.3) while averaging 12.4 points. The Gauchos are led by head coach Bonnie Henrickson who is in her ninth season.

Series History: UC Santa Barbara leads series history with 52 wins and 20 losses. In the last meeting in the series, CSUN fell 70-41 at the Thunderdome. UCSB has a winning streak of eight games against CSUN.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Sets Sights on Cal Poly and UCSB

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Players Mentioned

Erica Adams

Laney Amundsen

Kaitlyn Elsholz

Amiyah Ferguson

Talo Li-Uperesa

Kayanna Spriggs