UCSD Defeats CSUN, 78-64

LA JOLLA, Calif -- CSUN Women's basketball was defeated, 78-64, Thursday night by UC San Diego at LionTree Arena. Morgan Edwards led all Matador scorers with 12 points. Nnenna Orji had 11 points. Freshman Kayla Hopson had nine points and eight rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
UCSD kicked off the game with a three-point bucket, but CSUN followed with a 6-0 run thanks to layups by Erika Aspajo, Edwards and Orji to make it 6-3 at the 6:55 mark. A layup and two free-throws got the Tritons the lead just under the six-minute mark. CSUN then went on a mini 4-0 run before UCSD hit a shot from downtown to make it 10-10. The Matadors then went on a 6-0 run thanks to triples from Jenna Kilty and Edwards, which made it 16-10 with just about three minutes left in the quarter. UCSD would close the gap before both teams traded buckets, ending the first quarter at 18-18.

After both teams went blow for blow, Kelly Tumlin hit her first three of the contest to make it 22 all with 7:35 left to play in the half. UC San Diego then went on a 14-5 run capped off with a three pointer by Sumayah Sugapong. In that run, Edwards hit a three pointer as she had 12 points with more than four minutes remaining in the half.

After Alondra Lizama hit a free throw, she was countered by a Triton three-point shot. After two UCSD charity stripe points, Hopson hit a shot from behind the arc to get the lead back to single digits at 41-33 with 2:43 remaining in the half. Following the Hopson three, UCSD went a mini 6-2 run that was countered by a CSUN 7-0 run with Kilty draining her second shot from distance in the process. Lizama got to seven points of her own at the end of that run with a jump shot with 31 seconds left. The half would end with a UCSD layup to make the score 49-42 heading into intermission.

2ND HALF
UCSD kicked off the third quarter on a 12-0 run until Hopson drained two free throws and Kilty found a cutting Orji for a layup to make it 61-46 at the 3:24 mark. No runs of significance to close out the third as both teams turned up the dial on defense. CSUN held UCSD to 40% shooting and only 25% from behind the arc. The scoreboard read 66-50 heading into the fourth.

CSUN went on a 6-0 run to begin the fourth, capped off by a Tumlin shot from distance to make it with 6:17 left to go in the game. CSUN continued the pressured defense as the Tritons missed their first eight shots of the quarter.

UCSD ended its scoring drought with a three-point bucket from Erin Condron, making it 69-56. Orji hit a layup and a free throw to get the deficit back to 10 at 69-59 with 5:39 left to play. Defense was the name of the game throughout the rest of this contest. UCSD followed the Orji and-one with a 6-2 run. Tumlin got three back with an outside jumper to cut the lead to 11 at 75-64 with 1:15 left to play. Time wasn't on the Matadors' side even though CSUN outscored UCSD by two in the fourth quarter. The final buzzer rang before CSUN could make up the difference.

NEWS AND NOTES

With the defeat, CSUN is now 4-22, 2-15 in the Big West this season.
With Orji scoring 11 points, she has now tallied in double-figures in eight out of her last 10 games.
Hopson set her career high in rebounds with eight.
Tumlin made three out of the eight Matador shots from distance.
The Matadors held UCSD to just 25.0% shooting in the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT
CSUN continues its road trip as the Matadors will be at UC Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos this Saturday, March 1 at 4:00 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on ESPN+.

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Team Stats

Morgan Edwards

Nnenna Orji

Kayla Hopson

Kelly Tumlin

Players Mentioned

Erika Aspajo

Morgan Edwards

Kayla Hopson

Jenna Kilty

Alondra Lizama

Nnenna Orji

Kelly Tumlin

Players Mentioned

Erika Aspajo

Morgan Edwards

Kayla Hopson

Jenna Kilty

Alondra Lizama

Nnenna Orji

Kelly Tumlin