Thursday, January 30
Northridge, Calif.
11:00 a.m.
California State University at Northridge
3-16,1-9Big West
53
vs
68
UC Santa Barbara
11-9,5-5Big West
1
2
3
4
F
UC Santa Barbara
13
5
25
25
68
CSUN
18
6
15
14
53
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
Matadors Fall to the Gauchos In Front of Record Crowd
1/30/2025 2:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif --- CSUN Women's Basketball was defeated by the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos by a score of 68-53 at Premier America Credit Union Arena Thursday afternoon. The game took place in front of a women's basketball record-setting attendance mark of 1,704 fans. Nnenna Orji broke her career high and led the Matadors with 16 points. Freshman Karsen Marshall also set a new career high as well, as she tallied 13 points.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN started the game on a 6-2 run capped off by an Erica Adams layup at the 7:43 mark. UCSB responded with a 9-4 run of its own with a couple buckets from Laurel Rockwood. The Matadors would then take the lead off a driving layup from Orji with four minutes left to play in the first, as she tallied six of the first 12 points for CSUN. UCSB's Zoe Borter took the lead back with a layup of her own, however the Matadors would end the quarter on 6-0 run, with contributions from Adams, Orji and Yves Cox. CSUN took a five-point lead at 18-13 heading into the second period.
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In the second quarter, defense reigned supreme with neither team getting the advantage on offense. Only 11 points were scored in the quarter between both teams. However, CSUN still outscored the Gauchos by one, at 6-5 in the period. CSUN took a six point lead, 24-18, into the intermission.
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2ND HALF
UCSB started the quarter on a 12-5Â run, taking the lead via a jump shot from Olivia Bradley with 4:35 left to play in the third. CSUN would tie the game at 30 apiece thanks to a made free-throw by Cox. The lead went back and forth as a Borter jumpshot for the Gauchos was followed by a triple from Marshall at the 3:27 mark to make the score 33-32 as CSUN got its lead back.
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Following the made three, UCSB went on 7-0 run, giving the visitors a six-point lead with 1:53 left to play in the period. A layup and a jump shot from Adams got the deficit to two points. Both teams traded buckets before a jump shot from Alyssa Marin gave the Gauchos a four-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter as the scoreboard read 43-39.
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In the fourth quarter, the Gauchos started to build on their lead, going on an 8-0 run with seven minutes left to play. CSUN countered with an and-one bucket from Orji to get the lead back to single digits at the 6:58 mark. Then, a three pointer by UCSB got the lead back to 12.Â
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Following the three, CSUN went on a mini 6-2 run that ended with a Kelly Tumlin shot from distance, which cut the lead to eight with 3:48 left to play. An Orji free-throw pulled the Matadors closer at seven points before UCSB started to pull away. The Gauchos then went on a 7-0 run as the clock was getting shorter. A layup from Tumlin trimmed the lead to 12 with 1:05 left to play, but the lead was too much to overcome as UCSB was awarded the victory.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH ANGIE NED
"I thought in the first quarter we did a really good job defensively making our opponents take tough shots. Because of that, it really helped our flow in the offense. Nnenna did a great job scoring in the paint. We need to build on what we did defensively and our scoring in the paint. The crowd was amazing, anytime we could connect with the community on education day, as a team and as a coach, I loved it."
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UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road and tries to get revenge on Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on ESPN+ as CSUN looks to avenge its loss to the Roadrunners on Jan. 11.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN started the game on a 6-2 run capped off by an Erica Adams layup at the 7:43 mark. UCSB responded with a 9-4 run of its own with a couple buckets from Laurel Rockwood. The Matadors would then take the lead off a driving layup from Orji with four minutes left to play in the first, as she tallied six of the first 12 points for CSUN. UCSB's Zoe Borter took the lead back with a layup of her own, however the Matadors would end the quarter on 6-0 run, with contributions from Adams, Orji and Yves Cox. CSUN took a five-point lead at 18-13 heading into the second period.
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In the second quarter, defense reigned supreme with neither team getting the advantage on offense. Only 11 points were scored in the quarter between both teams. However, CSUN still outscored the Gauchos by one, at 6-5 in the period. CSUN took a six point lead, 24-18, into the intermission.
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2ND HALF
UCSB started the quarter on a 12-5Â run, taking the lead via a jump shot from Olivia Bradley with 4:35 left to play in the third. CSUN would tie the game at 30 apiece thanks to a made free-throw by Cox. The lead went back and forth as a Borter jumpshot for the Gauchos was followed by a triple from Marshall at the 3:27 mark to make the score 33-32 as CSUN got its lead back.
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Following the made three, UCSB went on 7-0 run, giving the visitors a six-point lead with 1:53 left to play in the period. A layup and a jump shot from Adams got the deficit to two points. Both teams traded buckets before a jump shot from Alyssa Marin gave the Gauchos a four-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter as the scoreboard read 43-39.
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In the fourth quarter, the Gauchos started to build on their lead, going on an 8-0 run with seven minutes left to play. CSUN countered with an and-one bucket from Orji to get the lead back to single digits at the 6:58 mark. Then, a three pointer by UCSB got the lead back to 12.Â
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Following the three, CSUN went on a mini 6-2 run that ended with a Kelly Tumlin shot from distance, which cut the lead to eight with 3:48 left to play. An Orji free-throw pulled the Matadors closer at seven points before UCSB started to pull away. The Gauchos then went on a 7-0 run as the clock was getting shorter. A layup from Tumlin trimmed the lead to 12 with 1:05 left to play, but the lead was too much to overcome as UCSB was awarded the victory.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
- Along with breaking her career high in points, Nnenna Orji has now scored in double-figures in the last three games, (13 vs LBSU, 11 vs UCSD and 16 vs UCSB)
- With 13 points, Karsen Marshall broke her previous career high of 12 in her second career start and first start since opening night against La Sierra on Nov. 4
- Marshall accounted for three out of the Matadors' four made shots from behind the arc.
- Erica Adams, Marshall, and Orji accounted for 40 out of the team's 53 points.
- It was Education Day at Premier America Credit Union Arena, as the attendance record for a women's basketball game was broken with 1,704 fans.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH ANGIE NED
"I thought in the first quarter we did a really good job defensively making our opponents take tough shots. Because of that, it really helped our flow in the offense. Nnenna did a great job scoring in the paint. We need to build on what we did defensively and our scoring in the paint. The crowd was amazing, anytime we could connect with the community on education day, as a team and as a coach, I loved it."
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UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road and tries to get revenge on Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on ESPN+ as CSUN looks to avenge its loss to the Roadrunners on Jan. 11.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
UCSB
CSUN
FG%
.400
.429
3FG%
.231
.250
FT%
.824
.583
RB
34
36
TO
7
18
STL
5
1
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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