Titans Force Overtime, But Fall to UC Davis at Titan Gym

Titans Force Overtime, But Fall to UC Davis at Titan Gym

Box Score (PDF)
Post Game Quotes (PDF) 

FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team lost a tightly contested matchup with UC Davis on Thursday night at Titan Gym, 74-67, behind 27 points from Sydnee Fipps and 16 points from Alyson Doherty.

Fullerton's senior Chante Miles poured in a game-high 33 points, falling two points shy of her career-high point total of 35 set earlier this year on Nov. 24 in a win at Weber State.  Miles was the only player tonight for either team to go the complete 45 minutes without a rest while dishing out two assists and grabbing five rebounds.

The Aggies (12-10, 7-3) opened up the overtime period with six-unanswered points on three-consecutive layups by Celia Marfone, Doherty and Fipps.  UC Davis stood tall at the charity stripe from that point on as Dani Nafekh sunk all four of her attempts to put the game out of reach and Marfone drilled both of hers with nine seconds left in the game to end it.

The Titans (9-13, 3-6) started slow on the offensive end on Thursday night, falling behind the Aggies 9-2 through the first media timeout of the game at 15:32.  The extra break in the action sparked the Titan offense as Miles caught fire throughout the rest of the half.  Through the first 12 minutes of the first half, the senior from Compton, Calif. accounted for 10 of the 11 CSF points on the scoreboard.

The Titans won the fight down low in the first 20 minutes, as seniors Kathleen Iwuoha and Natalie Williams, along with freshman Daeja Smith, edged UC Davis in points in the paint 14-13.  The one-point differential down low would show up big on the scoreboard as the Titans took at 30-29 lead into the halftime break.

Miles finished with 17 first-half points to lead all-scorers at the half on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the arc.  Playing the full 20 minutes, she also pulled down three rebounds and posted one assist.

UC Davis shot 45 percent (10-of-22) from the field and 40 percent (4-of-10) from behind the three-point line in the first half.  The Titans shot 43 percent (12-of-28) from the field and 38 percent (3-pf-8) from three-point territory.

The second half was a fast paced, shot-for-shot affair between senior's Fipps and Miles.  The UC Davis standout was in foul trouble early, limiting her to only nine minutes in the first half. The Aggie senior made up for lost time in the second.  After shooting 3-of-4 from the field in the first half for seven points, Fipps shot 6-of-8, including 3-of-5 from deep for a total of 18 points in the final frame. 

Miles and the Titans were not to be outdone, however, as Miles poured in 14 of her 33 total points in the second half to force the Aggies offense. The battle down low was even in the second half with each team scoring 10 points apiece, but the Aggies bench players forced their way into the outcome of this contest by outscoring the Titans bench 7-2 in the final 20 minutes.

With 19 seconds left in the second half, the Titans had a chance to win it after Fipps made one of her two free throw attempts to tie the game at 62-62.  The final shot to win the game did not fall for the Titans, and the offensive rebound from Smith did not get put back up in time as the second half horn sounded and the teams headed to overtime.

The Titans stay at home for the final game of the two-game home stand as Hawai'i visits Titan Gym on Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. tip.

Notes
: Saturday's game at Titan Gym will be the annual "Pink Game" at Titan Gym, fans are encouraged to join in an wear pink in support of the Play4Kay Foundation…The Titans all-time record against UC Davis falls to 10-12…Chante Miles' scored 30 points in a game for the third time this season, and has scored in double figures in 20-straight games to extend her career high streak…Miles (1,282 points) also passed Marlene Kline (1,259 points) for 11th-place on the Fullerton all-time scoring list, she is now eight points away from breaking into the top-ten for Titans all-time scorers as Andrea Thieme sits within striking distance for Miles at 1,290 points…The Titans all-time record against Big West Opponents drops to 205-251…Kathleen Iwuoha extended her streak of scoring in double figures to six-straight games to extend her career-high streak.

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