CSUN Faces Fullerton at Home, UC Davis on the Road

Thursday, January 2

Northridge, Calif.

6:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Cal State Fullerton

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Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Faces Fullerton at Home, UC Davis on the Road

1/1/2025 1:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes
NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Women's Basketball (2-9, 0-2 Big West) continues conference play for its first matchup of 2025 at home versus Cal State Fullerton (2-10, 0-2 Big West) at 6 p.m. Thursday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Jill Painter-Lopez will have the call on ESPN+. Both teams will be looking for their first conference win of the season.

In the second matchup of the week, CSUN will travel to UC Davis (8-4, 2-0 Big West) on Saturday to take on the Aggies at University Credit Union Center. The game will be aired on ESPN+ at 2 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors squared off against the Idaho Vandals on Saturday, Dec. 21 in Northridge. CSUN fell to Idaho 68-52 to close out non-conference play. Erika Aspajo notched her first career double-double after returning from injury. The junior from Spain tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds and even nine assists to go along with six steals. Kelly Tumlin also had her career high in the points department with 16. The junior from San Ramon played the most minutes (38) as she drained five shots from behind the arc.

In the first half, the scoring was almost dead even from both teams. After a floating jumper and a three-pointer by the Vandals, Tumlin hit her first of three shots from downtown in the quarter to tie the game at five a piece at the 8:07 mark. Idaho would then go on a 7-0 run, but the Matadors were unfazed. Aspajo assisted on two straight Tumlin threes as the scoreboard read 14-13 with 4:39 left in the period in favor of the Vandals. Aspajo would then get her third assist on the next play via a pick-and-roll play with Yves Cox, giving the Matadors the lead at 15-14. Two Laini Dahlin free throws then extended the lead to three with just about three minutes left to play in the quarter. Good defense was played the rest of the period as Idaho drained a layup and two free throws to put the Vandals up by one heading into the second period.

In the second quarter, after a 10-4 run by the visitors, The Matadors would respond with a 9-0 run of their own as Aspajo hit a jump shot with 2:49 left in the half to give CSUN a three-point lead at 33-30. After a couple of made baskets from both teams, CSUN headed into the locker room with a lead of 35-33.

The third quarter started to see the tide turn in the direction of the Vandals. Idaho began the quarter on an 18-2 run. CSUN would find the bottom of the net once again thanks to a layup from Erica Adams. Idaho then responded with a made jump shot from Sarah Brans to extend the Vandals' lead to 14, 53-39. The rest of the quarter saw buckets from both sides, but the score read 58-43 going into the last quarter.

In the fourth quarter, after a made jumper from the Vandals, Morgan Edwards drained a three-point bucket to cut the lead to 13, 62-49 with 5:14 remaining in the game. The fourth quarter saw good defense from both teams, as only 19 points were scored between the two squads. CSUN held Idaho to just 10 points in the fourth, but the Matadors just couldn't get things going on the offensive side of the ball. Idaho would end the game on a 6-3 run as time ran out on the comeback. The final buzzer sounded as Idaho found the win column.

TUMLIN THE TERRIFIC
Last time out against the Idaho Vandals, Kelly Tumlin drained five field goals from distance, making her the second Matador to hit five threes in a game (Morgan Edwards vs California Baptist being the other) this season. Tumlin was an essential part of the Matadors' offense against the Vandals, as the junior from San Ramon played a team-high 38 minutes. Tumlin is averaging 14.5 points in her last two home games as she looks to continue her high level of play at home against the Titans.

BACK TO BIG WEST ACTION
CSUN will continue Big West conference play with two familiar opponents this week in Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis. The Matadors are currently 0-2 in Big West play this season, with the last matchup coming against Cal Poly on Dec. 7. That marks 26 days in between conference games, a rare occurrence in the schedule.

LONG DISTANCE CALLS
CSUN currently ranks third in the Big West with 6.7 threes per contest. Four Matador players have double-digit threes on the year. Tumlin has 19, Jenna Kilty has 16, Morgan Edwards has 14, and freshman Karsen Marshall has 10. Eight out of 12 Matador players have knocked down a shot from behind the arc this season. Edwards leads the squad in three-point percentage at 47% from downtown.

GETTING IT DONE FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
CSUN is currently second in the Big West in free throw percentage. The Matadors are shooting 74.9% from the line this season. Erica Adams is leading the pack by shooting 87.9%. Hopson is shooting 83.3%, and Erika Aspajo is shooting 82%.

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
CSUF is currently 2-10 on the season and is 0-2 in Big West play. The Titans are currently averaging 60.3 PPG. They are led in scoring by Aaliyah Stanton (12.8 PPG/7th in Big West), Aixchel Hernandez (9.3 PPG), and Demonnie Lagway (9.2 PPG). Eva Levingston and Aixchel Hernandez are No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference in rebounding at 8.3 RPG.

The Titans started off this season at 0-10 but are currently riding a two-game win streak with victories against Bethesda University and Chapman University.

Series History: CSUF is currently 30-33 overall against CSUN. The Matadors have dropped three consecutive decisions against the Titans. CSUN's last victory was a 69-59 triumph on New Year's Eve, 2022.

SCOUTING UC DAVIS
The Aggies are currently first in the Big West in scoring at 72.6 PPG. UC Davis is led by a one-two punch of Tova Sabel (15.0 PPG) and Megan Norris (13.8 PPG). The Aggies are also number one in the conference in point differential with a margin of 14.8 PPG in their victories. The next closest team to them is UC Santa Barbara with a 5.4 margin.

UC Davis is currently riding a five-game winning streak heading into Thursday's battle against Cal State Bakersfield.

Series History: UC Davis is currently 34-17 all-time against CSUN. The Matadors' last victory against the Aggies was in the 2018 Big West Championship Match. CSUN punched its ticket to the March Madness Tournament in a 63-55 win.
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