CSUN Looks to Go on Win Streak at Fullerton, Home for Long Beach State

GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Women's Basketball (4-16, 2-9 Big West) will continue Big West play this week, traveling to Cal State Fullerton Thursday night before returning home against Long Beach State Saturday afternoon. Thursday's game will be at 7 p.m. at Titan Gym. Saturday's home game will tip-off at 2:00 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Jill Painter Lopez on the call for Saturday's contest.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
The Matadors dropped a close contest with UCSB, 68-53, last Thursday morning in front of a record crowd of 1,704 on Education Day at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Nnenna Orji broke her career high and led the Matadors with 16 points. Freshman Karsen Marshall also set a new career high as well, as she tallied 13 points. CSUN led at halftime but a huge third quarter by the Gauchos was the difference in the defeat.

On Saturday afternoon, CSUN was victorious at Cal State Bakersfield, by a score of 65-51 at the Icardo Center. The Matadors got revenge on the Roadrunners, having fallen to them earlier in the season. Kelly Tumlin scored a season-high 19 points while Morgan Edwards added 16 points against her former team. In the middle, Nnenna Orji chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds and Karsen Marshall finished with nine points, five rebounds and five steals.

MORGAN EDWARDS LEADING THE WAY
Morgan Edwards is the only Matador player to appear in and start every game so far this season. The junior from Los Angeles is averaging 9.0 PPG on the campaign. Edwards is third on the squad in three-point percentage at 35% from behind the arc. She is also fifth on the team in rebounding at 3.5 per contest. Edwards is an all-around player, as she's even third on the team in assists at 1.2 per game.

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. Jenna Kilty has 32 while Kelly Tumlin has 30. Morgan Edwards has 28, freshman Karsen Marshall has 16 and Laini Dahlin has 14. 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 137 three- point baskets on the season.

GETTING IT DONE FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Matadors currently rank fifth in the Big West in free-throw percentage at 72%. . Kayla Hopson and Erica Adams are leading the pack by both shooting 83%. Erika Aspajo is shooting 82%. Eight 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 38.2. 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 STATE FULLERTON
Cal State Fullerton enters Thursday's contest with an identical record of the Matadors in Big West play. Both teams have four wins total and two wins in conference. One of CSUN's two wins came earlier in the season against the Titans on January 2. In that game, CSUN stormed back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and ended up victorious by a score of 79-76.

The Titans are led in scoring by Aaliyah Stanton, who is tallying 14.5 PPG, good enough for third in the Big West. Following Stanton is Aixchel Hernandez, who is scoring 8.8 points per contest. CSUF averages 59 points as a team, while allowing 62.3 PPG on the defensive end.

Center Eva Livingston is tops in the Big West in rebounds per game, at 8.4 per contest.

Series History: CSUN is currently winning the series history, 34-30. The Matadors won earlier this season to snap a three-game losing skid.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
The Beach enters this week of action fourth in the Big West with a conference record of 7-4, and an overall record of 11-9. LBSU is on a three-game losing streak, with losses to UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and Cal Poly. By point metrics, Long Beach has the best offense in the Big West. They top the league at 69.3 PPG. On the flip side, they allow the second most points to any team in the Big West at 69.5 PPG.

The Beach's top scorer is Savannah Tucker, who is averaging 16.0 PPG to lead the Big West. The Beach also have the second-best rebounder in the conference in Rachel Loobie, as she pulls down 7.9 boards a game.

Earlier this season, the Matadors had a lead at halftime against The Beach, but ultimately fell 88-75 on the road on Jan. 23. CSUN is hoping that home cooking is the recipe against this tough LBSU squad.

Series History: The Matadors are 24-47 all time against The Beach. LBSU currently holds a four-game winning streak. The last win for CSUN came on January 5th of 2023, where CSUN won 57-55 at the Walter Pyramid. Before losing the last four contests, CSUN held a four game win streak dating from 2020-23.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Looks to Go on Win Streak at Fullerton, Home for Long Beach State

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Players Mentioned

Erica Adams

Erika Aspajo

Yves Cox

Laini Dahlin

Morgan Edwards

Kayla Hopson

Jenna Kilty

Karsen Marshall

Nnenna Orji

Kelly Tumlin