Thursday, January 9
Irvine, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
3-11,1-4Big West
39
at
68
UC Irvine
9-5,3-1Big West
1
2
3
4
F
CSUN
4
20
5
10
39
UC Irvine
20
15
21
12
68
Photo by: Connor Clark
Matadors Drop Road Contest to UC Irvine
1/9/2025 8:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
IRVINE, Calif -- CSUN Women's Basketball fell to the UC Irvine Anteaters by a score of 68-39 Thursday night at the Bren Events Center. Morgan Edwards led all CSUN scorers with 11 points on the night. Laini Dahlin tallied nine points as well.Â
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Irvine came out of the gates strong in the first quarter. The Anteaters began the quarter on a 20-0 run as CSUN struggled to find the bottom of the net. CSUN would end the run on a Jenna Kilty three point bucket at the 2:23 mark. CSUN would end the quarter on a mini 4-0 run but trailed by 16 entering the second.
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The Matadors would play a much better second period. CSUN would begin the second quarter on a 16-5 run, ultimately cutting the lead to five with 3:43 left in the half. Edwards hit three consecutive shots from distance to put CSUN right back in the game. Edwards would end up with 11 points in the half, shooting 4-6 in the process. CSUN went 8-12 in the second quarter, shooting 66.7% from the field as well as knocking down all four attempts from downtown.Â
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The Anteaters would follow the 16-5 run with an 8-0 run of their own, ultimately ending with a Kilty layup with 56 seconds remaining. The grad student from Oakland tallied eight points in the half, going a perfect 3-3 with two made three point shots. Both teams traded buckets to end the half as UC Irvine carried an 11 point lead, 35-24 heading into the intermission.
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2ND HALFÂ
UC Irvine came out of the break on a 12-3 run. Dahlin accounted for those three points as she knocked down a shot from behind the arc, her first points of the contest. Hunter Hernandez was a big part of the UC Irvine run as she tallied five of those nine points. The run ultimately came to an end when Nnenna Orji drained a shot from the charity stripe.
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UC Irvine would end the quarter on a 9-1 run as the Anteaters played solid defense against the Matadors. CSUN just couldn't get much to fall as it drained only one field goal in the third. The other two points came on made free throws. Irvine ended the third quarter with a 27-point lead.
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CSUN kept on fighting even as UC Irvine began the quarter with three straight made jumpers. Dahlin made back-to-back three-point shots to get the lead back to where it was when the fourth quarter started. She ended up with three threes on the night. The Matadors tallied 10 points in the fourth, but the Anteaters countered with 12 of their own points in the period. The lead ended up being too much to come back from as CSUN ended up on the losing end of this one.
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QUICK FACTS
CSUN returns home to face Cal State Bakersfield this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Jill Painter-Lopez will be on the call on ESPN+ at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Irvine came out of the gates strong in the first quarter. The Anteaters began the quarter on a 20-0 run as CSUN struggled to find the bottom of the net. CSUN would end the run on a Jenna Kilty three point bucket at the 2:23 mark. CSUN would end the quarter on a mini 4-0 run but trailed by 16 entering the second.
Â
The Matadors would play a much better second period. CSUN would begin the second quarter on a 16-5 run, ultimately cutting the lead to five with 3:43 left in the half. Edwards hit three consecutive shots from distance to put CSUN right back in the game. Edwards would end up with 11 points in the half, shooting 4-6 in the process. CSUN went 8-12 in the second quarter, shooting 66.7% from the field as well as knocking down all four attempts from downtown.Â
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The Anteaters would follow the 16-5 run with an 8-0 run of their own, ultimately ending with a Kilty layup with 56 seconds remaining. The grad student from Oakland tallied eight points in the half, going a perfect 3-3 with two made three point shots. Both teams traded buckets to end the half as UC Irvine carried an 11 point lead, 35-24 heading into the intermission.
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2ND HALFÂ
UC Irvine came out of the break on a 12-3 run. Dahlin accounted for those three points as she knocked down a shot from behind the arc, her first points of the contest. Hunter Hernandez was a big part of the UC Irvine run as she tallied five of those nine points. The run ultimately came to an end when Nnenna Orji drained a shot from the charity stripe.
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UC Irvine would end the quarter on a 9-1 run as the Anteaters played solid defense against the Matadors. CSUN just couldn't get much to fall as it drained only one field goal in the third. The other two points came on made free throws. Irvine ended the third quarter with a 27-point lead.
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CSUN kept on fighting even as UC Irvine began the quarter with three straight made jumpers. Dahlin made back-to-back three-point shots to get the lead back to where it was when the fourth quarter started. She ended up with three threes on the night. The Matadors tallied 10 points in the fourth, but the Anteaters countered with 12 of their own points in the period. The lead ended up being too much to come back from as CSUN ended up on the losing end of this one.
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QUICK FACTS
- Kilty and Dahlin knocked down 5-7 shots from downtown. Combined, they shot 71% from three.
- The highest scoring quarter for the Matadors was the second, as CSUN tallied 20 points, going 8-12 in the process.
- Seven Matador players tallied at least one steal.
- Erika Aspajo accounted for eight out of the 11 assists on the night.
CSUN returns home to face Cal State Bakersfield this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Jill Painter-Lopez will be on the call on ESPN+ at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
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Team Stats
CSUN
Irvine
FG%
.295
.382
3FG%
.348
.276
FT%
.500
1.000
RB
28
45
TO
26
16
STL
8
17
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
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