California State University Northridge Athletics
2025-26 Top CSUN Moments - WBB makes its first Big West Championship appearance since 2022-23
7/27/2026 12:07:00 PM | General, Women's Basketball
From July 6 to August 7, GoMatadors.com will present the top CSUN Moments from the 2025-26 sports season. Today, we celebrate the CSUN women's basketball team as they made their first Big West Championship appearance since the 2022-23 season
The CSUN women's basketball team entered its second season under the tutelage of head coach Angie Ned in 2025-26. The Matadors posted a six-win improvement between Ned's first and second seasons and a four-win improvement in Big West play.
The Matadors opened the season with wins against Bethesda and San Diego, winning by double-digits in both games. CSUN also opened up Big West play with a thrilling two point victory against Cal State Bakersfield, 59-57 on December 4, 2025. The Big West opener ended after a late stage layup from Saray White with five seconds left that lifted the Matadors past the Roadrunners at the Icardo Center.
CSUN also found the winners circle against Cal Poly twice (1/8 and 2/5), UC Riverside (2/7), Long Beach State (2/21) and Cal State Bakersfield again, this time on March 5 in Northridge.
The season-long performance by the Matadors earned them the No. 8 seed in the Big West Championship tournament. CSUN gave its all in the opening round against Cal State Fullerton, but ultimately fell to the Titans by a score of 80-65.
Newcomers Rita Nazario and Saray White had a big impact on the court as they were the team leaders in scoring. Nazario, a 5-5 sophomore from Portugal, led the team with 10.4 PPG and also was a menace from behind the three-point arc. She led the team in three-pointers, sinking 68 on the season.
White, a 2025-26 All-Big West Honorable Mention who transferred from Cosumnes River College, averaged double digits in scoring with 10.1 PPG. She played in all 30 games and added a season high 26 points against Cal State Fullerton on January 10.
The CSUN seniors also had a huge impact on the Matadors' winning ways. Kelly Tumlin, Morgan Edwards, Erika Aspajo, Laini Dahlin and Mariona Cos-Morales were pillars in helping CSUN grow over the calendar year, leaving a lasting mark on the program. With the help of the seniors, the Matadors averaged 64.7 points per game, a nearly 10-point improvement over Ned's first season (55.4 ppg).
2025-26 saw the first postseason appearance under coach Ned, and CSUN will be looking to repeat the act in 2026-27. A core group of returners and an exciting batch of newcomers will look to grow the Matador squad even more, as they look to do more damage in the Big West.
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