Thursday, March 6
Northridge, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
4-24,2-17Big West
74
vs
77
UC Riverside
15-14,11-8Big West
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
UC Riverside
19
12
10
24
12
77
CSUN
23
15
12
15
9
74
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Falls in Overtime Heartbreaker on Senior Night Against UC Riverside
3/6/2025 9:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif --- CSUN Women's Basketball fell 77-74 in overtime to the UC Riverside Highlanders on Senior Night Thursday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Nnenna Orji led the Matadors in scoring with 22, breaking her previous career high of 16. Morgan Edwards followed with 15 of her own in the defeat.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UCR began the game on a mini 5-0 run. CSUN broke the run with a layup from Orji at the 8:44 mark. An Erica Adams layup and an Edwards free-throw tied the game at five. After two buckets from the Highlanders, both teams matched up well throughout the rest of the quarter, with neither team getting a big advantage. CSUN ended the quarter on a 16-10 run with a numerous amount of players getting in on the action, with seven players tallying a bucket in the first. The scoreboard read 23-19 in favor of the Matadors heading into the second quarter.
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In the second quarter, UC Riverside began things with a 9-3 run, taking the lead off a layup from Kaylani Polk, which made it 28-26 with 6:48 left to play in the half. CSUN however, was quick to respond. The Matadors followed with a 9-1 run, with Adams contributing a shot from distance and a layup to put CSUN back on top 33-28 with four minutes remaining in the second. Both teams traded buckets but CSUN got the last laugh of the period with Edwards draining a three-pointer with eight seconds left to go. CSUN carried a 38-31 lead heading into intermission.
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2ND HALF
Jenna Kilty started off the half by draining a long-range shot from the corner to put the Matadors up by double-digits at the 8:39 mark. However, UC Riverside rattled off an 8-0 run, putting them within striking distance at 41-39 with 4:03 remaining in the period. CSUN fended off the attack by ending the third on a 9-2 run, thanks to five points from Erika Aspajo and four points from Orji. CSUN led by nine points at 50-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
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In the fourth quarter, UCR had its highest scoring quarter of the night. The Highlanders began things on an 8-1 run to cut the lead to two at 51-49 with 6:56 left to play. An Orji layup broke the momentum to put CSUN back up by four. Edwards followed up with a shot from behind the arc to bring the lead back to seven at 56-49 with 5:52 remaining. What followed was both teams getting after each other with no major runs to speak of. With 2:22 left to play Shelley Duchemin hit a jump shot to cut the lead to four at 59-55.Â
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An Aspajo and-one layup with just under two minutes left put CSUN back up by seven. UC Riverside then responded with its most crucial run of the game. The Highlanders ended the quarter on a 10-3 run including a Makayla Rose three-point bucket to tie things at 65 apiece with eight seconds left to go in the period. The game was then sent into overtime
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OVERTIME
Adams began the overtime scoring with a jump shot at the 4:17 mark. Rose responded with a jumper of her own to tie things up again. The Rose bucket was a part of a 6-0 run in extra time that ended with two Kelly Tumlin free-throws with 2:12 remaining as the scoreboard read 71-69. Both teams then traded jump shots to keep the lead the same with 1:28 left to go. Aspajo hit a free-throw to get the lead down to one with 43 seconds left to play. An Edwards layup put the Matadors up by one at 74-73 with 17 seconds to go. Rose responded with a made jumper to put UCR back up with eight seconds left. CSUN couldn't score on the last possession, leading to a win for the Highlanders.
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NEWS AND NOTES
UP NEXT
CSUN heads to Hawai'i to close out the season against the Rainbow Wahine Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on ESPN+
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UCR began the game on a mini 5-0 run. CSUN broke the run with a layup from Orji at the 8:44 mark. An Erica Adams layup and an Edwards free-throw tied the game at five. After two buckets from the Highlanders, both teams matched up well throughout the rest of the quarter, with neither team getting a big advantage. CSUN ended the quarter on a 16-10 run with a numerous amount of players getting in on the action, with seven players tallying a bucket in the first. The scoreboard read 23-19 in favor of the Matadors heading into the second quarter.
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In the second quarter, UC Riverside began things with a 9-3 run, taking the lead off a layup from Kaylani Polk, which made it 28-26 with 6:48 left to play in the half. CSUN however, was quick to respond. The Matadors followed with a 9-1 run, with Adams contributing a shot from distance and a layup to put CSUN back on top 33-28 with four minutes remaining in the second. Both teams traded buckets but CSUN got the last laugh of the period with Edwards draining a three-pointer with eight seconds left to go. CSUN carried a 38-31 lead heading into intermission.
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2ND HALF
Jenna Kilty started off the half by draining a long-range shot from the corner to put the Matadors up by double-digits at the 8:39 mark. However, UC Riverside rattled off an 8-0 run, putting them within striking distance at 41-39 with 4:03 remaining in the period. CSUN fended off the attack by ending the third on a 9-2 run, thanks to five points from Erika Aspajo and four points from Orji. CSUN led by nine points at 50-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
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In the fourth quarter, UCR had its highest scoring quarter of the night. The Highlanders began things on an 8-1 run to cut the lead to two at 51-49 with 6:56 left to play. An Orji layup broke the momentum to put CSUN back up by four. Edwards followed up with a shot from behind the arc to bring the lead back to seven at 56-49 with 5:52 remaining. What followed was both teams getting after each other with no major runs to speak of. With 2:22 left to play Shelley Duchemin hit a jump shot to cut the lead to four at 59-55.Â
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An Aspajo and-one layup with just under two minutes left put CSUN back up by seven. UC Riverside then responded with its most crucial run of the game. The Highlanders ended the quarter on a 10-3 run including a Makayla Rose three-point bucket to tie things at 65 apiece with eight seconds left to go in the period. The game was then sent into overtime
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OVERTIME
Adams began the overtime scoring with a jump shot at the 4:17 mark. Rose responded with a jumper of her own to tie things up again. The Rose bucket was a part of a 6-0 run in extra time that ended with two Kelly Tumlin free-throws with 2:12 remaining as the scoreboard read 71-69. Both teams then traded jump shots to keep the lead the same with 1:28 left to go. Aspajo hit a free-throw to get the lead down to one with 43 seconds left to play. An Edwards layup put the Matadors up by one at 74-73 with 17 seconds to go. Rose responded with a made jumper to put UCR back up with eight seconds left. CSUN couldn't score on the last possession, leading to a win for the Highlanders.
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NEWS AND NOTES
- Aspajo had a nice all-around game with 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds
- The seniors on senior night accounted for 40 of the team's 74 points
- Edwards had her second highest rebounding game of the season with eight
- CSUN shot 44% from distance in the defeat.
UP NEXT
CSUN heads to Hawai'i to close out the season against the Rainbow Wahine Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on ESPN+
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Team Stats
UCR
CSUN
FG%
.385
.528
3FG%
.360
.444
FT%
.727
.625
RB
36
40
TO
8
21
STL
9
1
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
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