Thursday, January 16
Northridge, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
3-13,1-6Big West
47
vs
75
Hawai'i
10-6,4-2Big West
1
2
3
4
F
Hawaii
19
26
15
15
75
CSUN
14
10
11
12
47
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Drops Home Contest to Hawai'i in Big West Action
1/16/2025 8:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif - CSUN Women's Basketball fell to the Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine Thursday night, 75-47, at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Erika Aspajo led all CSUN scorers with 14 points. Morgan Edwards scored in double-digits as well as she dropped 10.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams traded buckets to start the game as Nnenna Orji scored the first points of the night for the Matadors against her former team with 9:03 left to play in the quarter. Hawai'i then went on a 14-2 run before Edwards drained a three point bucket at the 2:58 mark to cut the lead to nine at 16-7. Off the three-point made by Edwards, CSUN hit another triple to get a 6-0 run of its own, as Aspajo drained a shot from distance to cut the lead to six. The Rainbow Wahine added a shot from behind the arc as well before CSUN added two Yves Cox free-throws and a layup from Aspajo to get the lead to five heading into the second period.
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In the second quarter, Hawai'i began the period on a 12-2 run thanks in large part to Lily Wahinekapu who tallied five of the 12. Alondra Lizama got her first points of the contest on a three-point bucket with 5:07 left in the half to cut the lead to 15. After Imani Perez made a jumpshot for Hawai'i, Aspajo drained her second three of the night and second made three of the season as the lead was brought back to 11 with 4:15 remaining in the half. Hawai'i would end the first half on a 12-2 run as the score was 45-24 in favor of the Rainbow Wahine heading into intermission.Â
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2ND HALF
The second half had more back and forth action than the first half. It started when Morgan Edwards hit a shot from downtown after two made free throws by Hawai'i at the 8:53 mark. After a mini 6-0 run by UH, the Matadors countered with a 6-2 run, as both Kelly Tumlin and Laini Dahlin hit their first threes of the night to get the lead back to 20. Eight out of the 16 Matador field goals on the night came from behind the arc. Hawai'i ended the quarter on a little 5-2 run as the scoreboard read 60-35 going into the fourth.
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To kick off the fourth quarter, the Rainbow Wahine made two driving layups, one of them scored by Imani Perez who led all scorers with 19 on the night. Kelly Tumlin broke the 4-0 run with a bucket via the three-point variety with seven minutes remaining. Both teams couldn't find a big run in the fourth as it seemed the two sides were scoring after the other. CSUN had its second-highest scoring quarter of the night at 12 points, but the lead was too much to overcome. When the buzzer sounded, Hawai'i came out victorious.
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QUICK FACTS
After the weekend break, CSUN hits the road again as the Matadors will travel to Long Beach State for a battle on Jan. 23 at 3:00 p.m. The game will be live-streamed on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams traded buckets to start the game as Nnenna Orji scored the first points of the night for the Matadors against her former team with 9:03 left to play in the quarter. Hawai'i then went on a 14-2 run before Edwards drained a three point bucket at the 2:58 mark to cut the lead to nine at 16-7. Off the three-point made by Edwards, CSUN hit another triple to get a 6-0 run of its own, as Aspajo drained a shot from distance to cut the lead to six. The Rainbow Wahine added a shot from behind the arc as well before CSUN added two Yves Cox free-throws and a layup from Aspajo to get the lead to five heading into the second period.
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In the second quarter, Hawai'i began the period on a 12-2 run thanks in large part to Lily Wahinekapu who tallied five of the 12. Alondra Lizama got her first points of the contest on a three-point bucket with 5:07 left in the half to cut the lead to 15. After Imani Perez made a jumpshot for Hawai'i, Aspajo drained her second three of the night and second made three of the season as the lead was brought back to 11 with 4:15 remaining in the half. Hawai'i would end the first half on a 12-2 run as the score was 45-24 in favor of the Rainbow Wahine heading into intermission.Â
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ÂAnother buzzer beaten by Erika Aspajo, this time off the steal!
— CSUN Women's Basketball (@CSUNWBB) January 17, 2025
She's up to 12 points as CSUN ends the half on a high note.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/80BuonLT96
2ND HALF
The second half had more back and forth action than the first half. It started when Morgan Edwards hit a shot from downtown after two made free throws by Hawai'i at the 8:53 mark. After a mini 6-0 run by UH, the Matadors countered with a 6-2 run, as both Kelly Tumlin and Laini Dahlin hit their first threes of the night to get the lead back to 20. Eight out of the 16 Matador field goals on the night came from behind the arc. Hawai'i ended the quarter on a little 5-2 run as the scoreboard read 60-35 going into the fourth.
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ÂEdwards gets the friendly bounce!
— CSUN Women's Basketball (@CSUNWBB) January 17, 2025
Her second triple of the game gives her eight points.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/SgcXufuRjM
To kick off the fourth quarter, the Rainbow Wahine made two driving layups, one of them scored by Imani Perez who led all scorers with 19 on the night. Kelly Tumlin broke the 4-0 run with a bucket via the three-point variety with seven minutes remaining. Both teams couldn't find a big run in the fourth as it seemed the two sides were scoring after the other. CSUN had its second-highest scoring quarter of the night at 12 points, but the lead was too much to overcome. When the buzzer sounded, Hawai'i came out victorious.
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QUICK FACTS
- Aspajo tallied the most minutes on the night for either team at 38. It was her second consecutive game in double figures (22 vs Cal St. Bakersfield on 01/11)
- With 10 points, Edwards leads the team with nine games on the season scored in double-figures
- Aspajo, Edwards, and Tumlin accounted for six of the eight made three-pointers on the night.
- Nnenna Orji tallied a career-high in steals at four on the night.
After the weekend break, CSUN hits the road again as the Matadors will travel to Long Beach State for a battle on Jan. 23 at 3:00 p.m. The game will be live-streamed on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
Hawaii
CSUN
FG%
.435
.276
3FG%
.290
.250
FT%
.923
.700
RB
44
35
TO
12
16
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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