Matadors Travel to Long Beach, Host UC San Diego in Big West Action

Game Notes
NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Women's Basketball (3-13, 1-6 Big West) continues Big West play this week, traveling to Long Beach State before returning home to host UC San Diego on Saturday. The Matadors will take on the Beach Thursday at the Gold Mine at 6:00 p.m. CSUN will then take on the Tritons Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena at 2:00 p.m. Both contests will be live-streamed on ESPN+, and Saturday, Jill Painter-Lopez will be on the call.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN 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.

MORGAN EDWARDS LEADING THE WAY
Morgan Edwards is the only Matador player to appear in and start every game so far this season. The junior from Los Angeles is averaging 9.2 PPG on the campaign. Edwards is second on the squad in three-point percentage at 39% from behind the arc. She is also third on the team in rebounding at 3.7 per contest. Edwards is an all-around player, she's even third on the team in assists at 1.2 per game.

ENOUGH REBOUNDS TO GO AROUND
CSUN currently ranks third in the Big West in rebounds per game at 38.2. Yves Cox, a freshman, ranks first on the team in rebounds at 6.6 per contest. She amassed three different double-digit rebounds games this season, grabbing a season-high 14 against Cal State Fullerton on January 2nd. In that game, CSUN tallied 61 rebounds, just two short of a team record and tied for third most in the team's history. Erica Adams averages 5.0 RPG and Erika Aspajo averages 3.9 RPG, both impressive numbers for two guards.

LONG DISTANCE CALLS
CSUN currently ranks third in the Big West with 6.9 threes per contest. Five Matador players have double-digit threes on the year. Jenna Kilty has 27, Morgan Edwards has 23, Kelly Tumlin has 21, Laini Dahlin has 12 and freshman Karsen Marshall has 11. 10 of the 12 Matadors players have knocked down a shot from behind the arc this season. Kilty leads the squad in three-point percentage at 40% from downtown. CSUN has made a total of 110 three- point baskets on the season.

GETTING IT DONE FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Matadors currently rank fifth in the Big West in free-throw percentage at 72%. Adams is leading the pack by shooting 83.8%. Kayla Hopson is shooting 83% while Erika Aspajo is shooting 82%. Eight different Matador players are shooting above 70% from the charity stripe.

OFFENSE RUNNING THROUGH THE SPANIARD
Since returning from injury Dec. 21 versus Idaho, Erika Aspajo is averaging 12 PPG. In that same time span, she is also tallying six rebounds per game. The junior from Barcelona is consistently staying on the court, as she has not played less than 30 minutes per contest since returning to the floor, including playing a season-high 38 the last time out versus Hawai'i. Aspajo also has the top four highest assisted games so far this season in the Big West. Her nine assists versus Idaho are the most by any player in the conference so far this season.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State enters Thursday's contest 6-1 in the Big West, good enough for a share of first place with UC Irvine. The Beach's lone loss in the Big West came last week at the hands of UC San Diego, who will play the Matadors on Saturday. The Beach are 6-2 at home. LBSU averages 69.4 PPG, good enough for second in the conference. On the flip side, they allow 68.7 PPG, which is near the bottom of the Big West (9th).

LBSU has the most combined team rebounds per game in the conference as the Beach pull down 43.3 boards per game.

Senior Savannah Tucker leads the team in scoring and is second in the Big West for points per game at 15.7 per contest. Tucker also leads the Beach in three-pointers made as she had knocked down 23 so far this campaign. The senior from Fresno has been on the floor longer than anyone as she leads the conference in minutes per game at 36.6.

The Beach is so far performing above expectations as they were voted to finish fourth in the Big West in the preseason polls.

Series History: The Matadors are 24-46 all time against the Beach. LBSU currently holds a three-game winning streak. The last win for CSUN came on January 5th of 2023, where CSUN won 57-55 at the Walter Pyramid. Before losing the last three contests, CSUN held a four game win streak dating from 2020-23.

SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO
UC San Diego enters this week of Big West games 8-11 on the season and 4-3 in Big West play. The Tritons are winners of two straight, having gone undefeated last week against UC Riverside and Long Beach State. CSUN is catching this team on the road, which is a positive for the Matadors, being that the Tritons are 2-6 away from LionTree Arena. UCSD is fourth in the conference in scoring at 63.4 PPG.

Two-time player of the week Sumayah Sugapong leads the team in scoring at 12.8 PPG. Behind her is last week's player of the week, Sabrina Ma who averages 10.4 pointer per contest.

Former Matador and senior Kayanna Spriggs is finishing her career at UCSD after spending the last three seasons at CSUN. She is one of only three players to have started every game so far this season.

Series History: CSUN and UC San Diego are currently tied in their series history at three apiece. The Matadors won the last contest on the road at LionTree Arena in 2024, by a score of 66-64 in overtime.
#GoMatadors

Matadors Travel to Long Beach, Host UC San Diego in Big West Action

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Players Mentioned

Erica Adams

Erika Aspajo

Yves Cox

Laini Dahlin

Morgan Edwards

Kayla Hopson

Jenna Kilty

Karsen Marshall

Kayanna Spriggs

Kelly Tumlin