CSUN Takes on Life Pacific on Thanksgiving Eve

GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif --- The CSUN women's basketball team (2-3) will play its last game of November when the Matadors take on the Life Pacific Warriors at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. The game will stream on ESPN+ with Jill Painter-Lopez and Graham Metzker on the call.

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN fell to the Idaho Vandals, 89-56 Sunday afternoon at ICCU Arena. Rita Nazario led all CSUN scorers with 11 points. Nadia Bernard added eight points in the defeat. In the first quarter, both teams went score-for-score to begin the game as the Matadors saw three different players drain a bucket to make it a 6-6 game early on. Idaho then went on to control the quarter as the Vandals began a 24-5 run that saw seven different Idaho players score.

In the second quarter, CSUN and Idaho went back and forth but the new period saw a much more balanced scoring attack from the Matadors. CSUN began the second on a 10-5 run with five points contributed from Saray White and Nazario. Those 10 points came on a perfect 4-4 from the field, as the Matadors now trailed 32-19 with 7:22 remaining in the half. CSUN outscored the Vandals in the second quarter, 17-16.

In the second half, Idaho began the third quarter on a 7-0 run but the momentum was stopped by a Bernard jump shot to make it 51-30 at the 8:24 mark. The Vandals then went on another big run, this time 16-4, culminating in a 67-34 lead with 3:39 left to play in the period. In the end, the Matadors couldn't catch up to the deficit.

HI, I'M NEW HERE
A total of 10 newcomers make up this season's roster, that's 67 percent of the team. Of the 10 newcomers, six are transfers. In an interview with the Big West during the conference preview on Oct. 17, coach Ned emphasized using the transfer portal to build pieces for a winning program in the offseason.

Using the portal is something that every team does in the new age of college sports, and CSUN has taken advantage of it. The transfers include Jite Gbemuotor (Ole Miss), Maya Contreras (New Mexico Junior College), Mariona Cos-Morales (Rider University), Rita Nazario (Saint Louis), Nadia Bernard (Saint Mary's) and Saray White (Cosumnes River College). To join the transfers on the squad are four freshmen: Amya Moody, Norret Lewis, Heather Stedman and Jana Canadell.

NAZARIO HAS MADE A STATEMENT
Entering this year, 5'5 guard Rita Nazario came over to the Matadors after playing previously at Saint Louis. Since becoming a Matador, she has left her mark all over this season and has become CSUN's most reliable scorer through four games. She is currently leading the team in points per game at 13.8. She has the most three-pointers on the squad with 16 made. She is shooting 44% from the field and 44% from three. The Portugal native also leads the team in minutes per game at 26.6.

SCOUTING LIFE PACIFIC
The Warriors are 6-2 on the season and they have won two straight. LPU is an NAIA school, primarily competing in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) since the 2017–18 academic year. They have been 5-1 in the month of November so far. LPU averages 64.5 points per contest and they have allowed 48.9 points on the defensive end. The two top Warrior scorers are Ebony Cooper who is averaging 10.9 PPG and Ysabel Puente who has tallied 10.8 points per contest. Life Pacific also records rebounds at a high rate, averaging 44 per game.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first matchup between these two teams.

CSUN Takes on Life Pacific on Thanksgiving Eve

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Players Mentioned

Nadia Bernard

Jana Canadell

Maya Contreras

Mariona Cos-Morales

Jite Gbemuotor

Norret Lewis

Amya Moody

Heather Stedman

Saray White