LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team lost a tightly contested game, 74-70, against Long Beach State on Saturday night at The Pyramid behind Raven Benton's team-high 20 points and Devin Hudson's 12-point, 14-rebound double double.
Hudson was the difference in the game Saturday, as her 14 total rebounds were nine more than any other player on the floor. The junior's work down low gave The Beach countless second-chance opportunities, and made the Titan defense put in the extra work to slow down the 49er offense in consecutive possessions the entire game.
The Titans (9-10, 3-3) were up to the challenge early, however, as Chante Miles started off her hot-shooting night with consecutive three pointers that gave the Titans the advantage in the opening minutes. Through the first two media timeouts of the contest, Fullerton shot 57 percent from behind the three-point line and maintained a slim lead, 15-10, through the halfway point of the first half.
When the teams came back on the court with 10 minutes to go until the halftime break, the pace of the game changed. Long Beach State went on a 15-0 tear that saw them go from five-points down, to 10-points ahead in a span of only five minutes. The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, as Long Beach State took an 11-point lead, 39-28, into the break.
Miles was the leading scorer at the half for the Titans with eight points on 2-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-4 from behind the arc. Alex Sanchez, who spearheaded that Long Beach State run, finished the first half in double figures with 13 points (5-of-5 FG, 2-of-2 3FG). The Beach (18-3, 5-2) out rebounded the Titans 20-13 in the first 20 minutes with Hudson leading the way with six boards.
The Titans came out in the second half ready to challenge the Long Beach State post players, as Kathleen Iwuoha and Miles sparked a spirited run that cut the 11-point halftime deficit to just four points with 15:51 left to play in the game. Every big shot the Titans hit, however, was answered by the 49ers post players as the 6-foot-3 Hudson impacted the game at every crossroad.
As she had done so many times this year, Miles put the Titan offense on her back with 11 minutes left, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to pull Fullerton within four at 52-48 with 10:15 to play. Three minutes later another Miles trey found the bottom of the net to tie the game at 56-56 with 7:36 left in the game.
At the seven minute mark of the second half, the game was there for the taking for either side. The Titans responded to the pressure with big shot after big shot, but once again by the slick passing of the 49er post players made it too easy to get to the rim for easy layups.
In the last two minutes of the game, the Long Beach State play down low put the finishing touches on the game. A Hudson offensive rebound with 1:38 left in the game gave The Beach precious extra time on offense as they were fending off the Titan offensive onslaught. A spin move in the lane at the end of the shot clock in the next possession by Raven Benton led to a layup, and two free throws later was all Long Beach State needed to escape The Pyramid with the win.
Miles finished with a game-high 25 points (7-of-13 FG, 5-of-8 3FG), while dishing out three assists and pulling down five rebounds. Iwuoha and Tailer Butler joined Miles in double figures with 12 and 17 points, respectively.
The Titans had the only two players to go the full 40 minutes in tonight's matchup, Miles accomplished the feat for the 10th time this season and Samantha Logan went without a break for the first time this year.
The Titans will stay on the road this week as they travel to UC Riverside on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. to open up the month of February in Riverside, Calif.
Notes: Cal State Fullerton's all-time record against Long Beach State drops to 34-65...Chante Miles' 25 points tonight extends her career-high streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures, the streak is now at 17 games...Samantha Logan played the full 40 minutes for the first time this season, joining Miles, and Tailer Butler as the only three to have done so for the Titans this year...The Titans all-time record against Big West Opponents drops to 205-248...The game tonight at The Pyramid was featured on ESPN3 and on Watch ESPN...The Titans were out scored 52-16 in the paint in the game tonight, the most they've been outscored in the paint all season...Miles, Iwuoha, Butler, Logan and King all tied for the team-high rebound total tonight for Fullerton with 5 each, the first time Miles has been a team-leader in rebounds all season.
