CSUN Hosts UC Irvine, UC Davis This Week in Big West Play

GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Women's Basketball (4-19, 2-12 Big West) will continue Big West play by hosting two games this week at Premier America Credit Union Arena. The Matadors will play Thursday versus UC Irvine (16-8, 10-4 Big West) at 6 p.m. The next game will be on Saturday at 2 p.m. when CSUN takes on UC Davis (15-10, 9-6 Big West). Both games will be live-streamed on ESPN+ with Jill Painter-Lopez and Graham Metzker on the call.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN only had one game last week, as the Matadors took on the Mustangs of Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo on Saturday afternoon. CSUN fell 75-34. Morgan Edwards led all Matador scorers with 17 points. Freshman Karsen Marshall tallied eight points in the defeat. CSUN held Annika Shaw (fourth in the Big West in PPG at 14.2) to just nine points on the night.

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 in six out of the past seven 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
When healthy, 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 Morgan Edwards has 31. Laini Dahlin has 20 and freshman Karsen Marshall has 18. 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 37% from downtown. CSUN has made a total of 160 three-point baskets on the season.

LEADING THE MATADORS IN SCORING - THE MORGAN EDWARDS
Morgan Edwards has played in 21 games so far this season and she has started in all 21 of them. She leads the Matadors in scoring at 9.3 PPG. She has also amassed a total of 196 points scored all season. Edwards, the junior from Los Angeles, has tallied 16- and 17-point games in her past two contests. Her highest scoring game has come against California Baptist on Dec. 11, where she dropped 21 points.

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 UC IRVINE
UC Irvine is second in the Big West standings, trailing Hawai'i by 2.5 games heading into Thursday's contest. Junior Hunter Hernandez leads UC Irvine in both scoring (13.4 PPG) and rebounding (5.7 RPG). Hernandez has reached double figures in scoring in 17 of her 22 outings and owns a team-best two double-doubles.

UCI ranks 14th in the country in scoring defense at 54.4 points allowed per game. The Anteaters have not given up more than 50 points in five of their last six contests.

The Anteaters have the reigning Big West Player of the Year on their roster. Senior Deja Lee is averaging 10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assist and 1.5 steals.
CSUN is catching UC Irvine on a losing streak. UCI was defeated in both games last week. The Anteaters lost to Hawai'i and UC Santa Barbara.

Series History: CSUN is currently tied in the series history at 32-32 against the Anteaters. However, UC Irvine has won six in a row against the Matadors. The last victory for CSUN came on Jan. 23, 2020 where the Matadors prevailed by a score of 56-51.

SCOUTING UC DAVIS
The Aggies are currently 15-10 overall and 9-6 in Big West play. UC Davis is coming off two losses last week to UC Riverside and UC San Diego where they lost both games by a combined four points.
UC Davis is currently second in the Big West in scoring at 67.1 PPG. On the flip side, they are third best in opponent points per game at 55.7. UCD is second in the conference in blocked shots per game at 4.5.
The Aggies have the second leading scorer in the Big West in Tova Sabel. The senior is dropping 14.8 PPG. The last time these two teams squared off, CSUN actually held Sabel to one of her lowest scoring games on the season. She shot 3-12 with 10 points in the Aggie victory.

UC Davis also had two players in the top 10 in rebounding. Megan Norris is averaging 7.9 RPG while Sabel is averaging 6.9 RPG.

Series History: UC Davis is currently 35-17 all-time against CSUN. The Matadors' last victory against the Aggies was in the 2018 Big West Championship game. CSUN punched its ticket to the March Madness Tournament that season in a 63-55 win.

CSUN Hosts UC Irvine, UC Davis This Week in Big West Play

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Players Mentioned

Erica Adams

Erika Aspajo

Yves Cox

Laini Dahlin

Morgan Edwards

Jenna Kilty

Karsen Marshall

Nnenna Orji

Kelly Tumlin