Matadors Battle The Mustangs in San Luis Obispo

NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Women's Basketball (4-18, 2-11 Big West) will hit the road again and continue Big West play this Saturday when it takes on Cal Poly at 2:00 p.m. The game will take place at Mott Athletics Center and will be live streamed on ESPN+.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN went 0-2 during last week's games with the Matadors dropping Thursday's contest with a close battle against Cal State Fullerton, 65-61. CSUN then hosted Long Beach State on Saturday and fell to the Beach 88-65 after a strong second half by the away team.

Against the Titans on Thursday, the Matadors outscored their opponents 24-20 in the fourth quarter and had the ball with 20 seconds left down three, but ultimately came up short. Kelly Tumlin drained six shots from the three-point line including five in the fourth, scoring a career high 21 points in the loss.

On Saturday, Alondra Lizama had a night of firsts. The sophomore from North Hollywood scored a career high in points (13) and rebounds (13) to go with her first ever double-double. She was also 7-10 from the free-throw line. Nnenna Orji and Tumlin both led CSUN in scoring with 14 apiece. After keeping the game close through the first two quarters, Long Beach pulled away with a 49 point second half to give the Beach the win.

QUITE THE STREAK FOR NNENNA ORJI
Nnenna Orji was an addition to the roster for the 2024-25 campaign after she spent her previous three seasons with Old Dominion University and Big West opponent Hawai'i. After trying to find her footing early on this season, she is now starting to find her groove for the Matadors in recent games. Orji has scored in double figures for the past six games, including going for a career high 16 on January 30 versus UC Santa Barbara. She is also averaging seven rebounds in that same time frame.

OFFENSE RUNNING THROUGH THE SPANIARD
Erika Aspajo has been the focal point of the offensive schemes so far this season. The junior from Barcelona is number one on the team and number one in the Big West in assists per game at 4.9 per contest. Aspajo is also leading the team in points per game as well at 10.9. That mark is good enough for 12th in the Big West. 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. Aspajo has also had eight games where she has played 30 minutes or more, the most on the team.

LONG DISTANCE CALLS
CSUN currently ranks third in the Big West with seven threes per contest. Five Matador players have double-digit threes on the year. Kelly Tumlin is leading the pack with 40. Jenna Kilty has 33 while Kelly Tumlin has 30. Morgan Edwards has 28, Laini Dahlin has 19 and freshman Karsen Marshall has 16. 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 38% from downtown. CSUN has made a total of 154 three-point baskets on the season.

GETTING IT DONE FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Matadors currently rank sixth in the Big West in free-throw percentage at 71%. . Kayla Hopson and Erica Adams are leading the pack by both shooting 83%. Erika Aspajo is shooting 82%. Seven different Matador players are shooting above 70% from the charity stripe.
ENOUGH REBOUNDS TO GO AROUND
CSUN currently ranks third in the Big West in rebounds per game at 38.8. Yves Cox, a freshman, ranks first on the team in rebounds at 5.8 per contest. She amassed three different double-digit rebound 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 4.9 RPG and Erika Aspajo averages 4.1 RPG, both impressive numbers for two guards.

SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs enter Saturday's contest holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot for the Big West Championships. Cal Poly has a record of 10-12 while going 5-7 in Big West play.
The Mustangs' defense has been strong all season. They currently rank second in the country in defending the three with opponents only shooting 24.4 percent from beyond the arc against them. In nine of Cal Poly's 10 wins this year, it has held opponents under 60 points. They rank third in the Big West in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging 17.9 per game.

Cal Poly is led in scoring by Annika Shah, who is fourth in the Big West in scoring at 14.2 PPG. She leads the Big West and ranks 24th in the nation in threes made per game at 2.7. Shah has been very efficient with her scoring as she ranks third in the Big West in three-point percentage and sixth in field goal percentage. In addition to scoring, she also leads the team in assists, threes made, and free throw percentage. Shah has scored in double digits in 15 of the 22 games so far this season.

CSUN and Cal Poly squared off earlier this season on Dec. 7. The Mustangs came out on top by a score of 58-45.

Series History: Both teams have met 88 times previously and the record is dead even at 44 wins apiece for each team.

Matadors Battle The Mustangs in San Luis Obispo

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Players Mentioned

Erica Adams

Erika Aspajo

Yves Cox

Laini Dahlin

Morgan Edwards

Kayla Hopson

Jenna Kilty

Alondra Lizama

Karsen Marshall

Nnenna Orji

Kelly Tumlin