TIP-OFF
After upsetting third-ranked Cal Poly in the quarterfinal of the Big West Tournament, the Titans, in search of their first tournament title, advance to the semifinal at 12:00 p.m. on Friday at Honda Center against top-seeded Hawai'i.
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Cal State Fullerton vs Hawai'i
Friday Mar. 13, 2015 | 12:00 PM
Honda Center • Anaheim, Calif.
* Big West Tournament Semifinal Round
PROMOTION: The first 100 Cal State Fullerton students (with student I.D.) at Honda Center on Friday at 12:00 p.m. to cheer on the Titans against Hawai'i will receive free admission courtesy of the Cal State Fullerton Alumni Association.
Live Stats: www.FullertonTitans.com
Video: www.FullertonTitans.com
Audio: www.FullertonTitans.com
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Cal State Fullerton (13-18) vs. UH (22-7)
Overall Record...................................................15-16
Home Record........................................................8-8
Away Record.........................................................5-8
Neutral Site Record................................................2-0
Big West Tournament Record.................................2-0
Longest Win Streak................................................ 12
Longest Losing Streak...............................................9
Current Streak.......................................................L 2
Record in Last 10 Meetings....................................4-6
Last Meeting........................Mar. 7, 2015 (L, 61-38)
SERIES NOTES
Hawai'i: The Titans lost both matchups to the Rainbow Wahine in the 2014-15 Big West regular-season games. The Titans, however, hold the edge in all-time Big West Conference Tournament record 2-0.
CONFERENCE CALL
Cal State Fullerton is 208-255 all-time against the Big West Conference.
FULLERTON'S RECENT RESULTS
Mar. 11 vs Cal Poly
The Titans upended No.3 Cal Poly in the quarterfinals of the Big West Conference Tournament at Titan Gym on Wednesday night, 55-48, behind 19 points from Kathleen Iwuoha and 17 points from Tailer Butler.
The senior duo both played the full 40 minutes on Wednesday night, with Butler going the distance for the second-straight night. Butler shot 6-of-13 from the field, including 2-of-7 from three-point territory in the quarterfinal win. Iwuoha poured her game-high 19 points on 5-of-9 from the field and draining 9-of-12 attempts from the foul line.
Both teams started the game slow on the offensive end with only 21 points being scored in the first 10 minutes of the game. The sluggish start for Cal Poly continued through the midway point of the first frame, going without a field goal from 9:38 to 4:36 of the half. During that span, Fullerton scored 11 points to take a 24-13 lead over the Mustangs.
Cal Poly caught fire in the last couple minutes of the half, however, with Taryne Garza and Arianna Elegado sparking an 11-2 run to end the first half down by two points at 26-24. Both teams shot 30 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play, with the Titans draining 8-of-26 from the field and the Mustangs shooting 9-of-30.
After a frantic end to the first half, the Titans came out with poise and extended their two point lead at halftime to 34-28 with 16:57 left to play in the game behind a jumper from Butler and more scoring in the paint by Iwuoha.
Fullerton enjoyed a comfortable lead throughout the next 10 minutes of play as its double digit lead over the Mustangs was maintained for a majority of the final frame. With close to six minutes left in the game, Cal Poly started turning up the heat on the Titan defense and used a 5-0 run to cut the lead back to a manageable seven points.
Another run by the Mustangs starting at the four minute mark put Cal Poly in position to tie the game with just under a minute left in the game. After a defensive rebound on a missed Titan free throw CP's Elegado an opportunity to tie the game at the offensive end, but her three-point attempt flew wide of the basket and time ran out on the Mustangs season.
The Titans won the battle down low on Wednesday night, outscoring the Mustangs 22-16 on points in the paint. Fullerton also won the turnover battle, causing 16 Mustang turnovers on the night and scoring 15 points on those opportunities.
Fullerton shot 33 percent (16-of-48 FG) for the contest while Cal Poly experienced a difficult time putting the ball in the basket against the tough Titan defense, only shooting 29 percent (18-of-62 FG) for the game.
BREAKING DOWN HAWAI'I
After losing the first two games of the 2014-15 Big West Conference season, the Rainbow Wahine have reeled off 14-straight wins to earn the Big West regular-season title and the top-seed in the conference tournament.
Hawai'i swept the season series from Cal State Fullerton this season, winning at Titan Gym on Valentine's Day 54-43 and taking the regular-season finale at Stan Sheriff Center 61-38 on senior night in Honolulu. It's the first time the Rainbow Wahine have swept a season series from the Titans since the 1995 season.
The Rainbow Wahine employ a scoring by comitee approach to the offensive end, with Shawna-Lei Kuehu leading the 'Bows in scoring average at 10.6 points per game. Kuehu is the only Hawai'i player to earn first-team all conference honors, while Ashleigh Karaitiana was named to the second team and Destiny King was given an honorable mention nod.
TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE
Single session tickets for the 2015 Big West Women's Basketball Tournament at Titan Gym are on sale now at the Cal State Fullerton ticketing office. Adult tickets are $10 while children's (ages 3-17) and Big West students (with student ID) will be able to buy tickets for $5.
All tickets at Titan Gym are general admission and one ticket will earn admission to one full session for either the first round (Mar. 10) or the quarterfinal round (Mar. 11). Tickets are available for purchase at the door on game day and are cash only, all sales are final and no refunds or exchanges will be given.
TITANS IN THE BIG WEST TOURNAMENT
Fullerton is making its 14th consecutive appearance in the Big West Tournament and its 25th overall berth since the 1985-86 season. The Titans are 18-25 all-time in the conference postseason event, winning at least one game in the tournament in six of the last nine seasons and are making their fourth appearance in the semifinal round during that span. Head coach Daron Park is making his second-consecutive appearance to the conference tournament after losing to Long Beach State in the first round of the conference tournament last season.
MILES & IWUOHA EARN ALL-CONFERENCE NODS
After a season where they averaged over 50 percent of the total offense for the Cal State Fullerton Titans, the senior duo of Chante Miles and Kat Iwuoha was honored Monday morning with all-conference selections. Iwuoha earned a bid as an honorable mention while Miles stole the show with a selection to the Big West Conference First Team.
CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS
Natalie Williams: Appearing in 24 games or more each of her four seasons, Natalie currently sits eighth all-time on the Fullerton shot blockers list with 53 career blocks.
Kat Iwuoha: One of the top-five rebounders in Cal State Fullerton history, Iwuoha has pulled down a total of 763 boards and currently sits in fourth place on the all-time Titan rebounding list.
Chante Miles: Miles currently sits eighth place on the all-time Fullerton scoring list with 1,463 points, seventh all-time in assists with 377, 6th in steals with 180 and sits alone in fourth place in minutes played with 3,667 in her four-year career.
MILES CHASING HISTORY
With 8 points in the win over Cal Poly on Wednesday night, Chante Miles now has 1,463 points in her Titan career, she currently sits in eighth place all time on the Titan scoring list. Miles is 56 points shy of Nancy Dunkle (1,519 points) for seventh place in the Fullerton record book.
CAREER NIGHTS
Chante Miles: The guard from Compton, Calif. could not be stopped Feb. 19 at Cal Poly as she dropped a career-high 36 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from behind the arc.
Amanda Tivenius: The freshman from Lindingo, Sweden scored a career-high 16 points on a very efficient 6-of-8 shooting from the floor against San Diego on Nov 18.
Daeja Smith: Freshman Daeja Smith produced the first double-double of her career Nov. 29 against New Mexico State, dropping 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while adding a career-high three blocks.
Natalie Williams: Natalie Williams played a season-high 27 minutes on Sunday at Seattle and recorded one block. With that block, she now sits alone in eighth place all-time on the Fullerton career shot blockers list, she was previously tied with Charlee Underwood (2003-2007).
Samantha Logan: Samantha Logan led the charge on the glass for the Titans in a 58-49 victory over UC Riverside in the opening game of Big West Conference play on Jan.8. Logan pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds and dished out three assists in her 34 minutes on the floor.
Titan Defense: The Cal State Fullerton defense was played a historically dominant first half against UC Irvine on Jan. 15 at Bren Events Center. The Titans held the Anteaters to a school-record 12 points allowed in the first half of play. The record was previously held by the 1970 squad who gave up 13 points to Cal Western (a.k.a USIU) on Feb. 19.
Kathleen Iwuoha: While posting her team-best eighth double double of the season, the senior from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds against UC Irvine on Mar. 5. Iwuoha also added at team-high 21 points to her stellar night on the glass.
THREE-POINT THREAT
The Titans shot 45 percent from behind the three-point line in their opening round victory over UC Riverside on Tuesday night at Titan Gym. Titans own a 6-0 record when shooting above 40 percent from three-point range and have a record of 10-4 when shooting a higher three-point percentage than their opponent. Fullerton had to rely on a different strategy in the quarterfinal round against Cal Poly as they only shot 12 percent from deep for the game. It was the first win of the season where the Titans shot under 40 percent from the three-point line, and also the first victory where the opponent shot a higher percentage from the arc.
INDIVIDUALS IN THE BIG WEST (2014-15 Big West Statistics)
Chante Miles: 37.1 m.p.g. • 50 asst. • 28 stl. • 19.8 p.p.g.
Kathleen Iwuoha: 33.5 m.p.g. • 42 Off. Reb. • 9.8 r.p.g. • 13.1 p.p.g.
Samantha Logan: 28.8 m.p.g. • 5.4 r.p.g • 87 Reb. • 5.4 p.p.g.
Natalie Williams: 15.4 m.p.g. • 51 reb. • 31% FG • 2.1 p.p.g
Daeja Smith: 18.6 m.p.g. • 46% FG • 4.5 r.p.g. • 4.1 p.p.g.
Tailer Butler: 34.2 m.p.g. • 30 asst. • 4.7 r.p.g. • 9.0 p.p.g.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Senior guard Chante Miles scored 26 points to lead all scorers in the Titans first-round win over UC Riverside on Tuesday night at Titan Gym. The senior was 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, coming one free throw shy of tying the Big West Tournament record of 14 made free throws in a single game.
• Kathleen Iwuoha leads the Titans with nine double-double's on the season. Her latest coming on Tuesday against UC Riverside, scoring 17 points and grabbing a 11 rebounds.
• Freshman Daeja Smith earned the second double-double of her career at Fullerton, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds at CSUN Feb. 7.
• Senior Tailer Butler caught fire from deep Jan. 17 at UC Davis, scoring a season-high 19 points by draining a season-high five three-pointers.
• Junior Hailey King came off the bench to lead the Titans in scoring on Dec. 14 against Fresno State, she dropped a season-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, while playing a season-high 28 minutes.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKER
Kathleen Iwouha
• Nov. 28 vs Eastern Michigan - Iwuoha scored a season-high 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in a 78-74 loss to Eastern Michigan in the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic opener.
• Dec. 3 at Denver - Iwuoha posted her second double-double of the season, scoring 24 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in a 78-61 win at Denver.
• Dec. 31 vs UMKC - The senior scored 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to garner her team-leading third double double of the season.
• Jan. 8 vs UCR - Iwuoha earned her team-leading, fourth double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) of the year.
• Feb. 5 at UCR - Iwuoha posted her fifth double double of the year with a 19-point, 14-rebound performance.
• Feb. 14 vs Hawai'i - Iwuoha earned her team-leading sixth double double of the year with 13 pts and 13 reb.
• Feb. 21 at UCSB - Iwuoha posted a career-high 15 rebounds while pouring in 11 points in the loss at UCSB.
• Mar. 5 vs UC Irvine - Iwuoha scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds on her way to her eighth double double of the season.
• Mar. 10 vs UC Riverside - Iwuoha was a big part of the opening round victory in the Big West Tournament over UCR, posting a 17-point, 11-rebound performance for her ninth double double of the year.
Daeja Smith
• Nov. 29 at New Mexico State - Freshman Daeja Smith produced the first double-double of her career Nov. 29 at New Mexico State, dropping 10 points, pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds, and adding a career-high three blocks.
• Feb. 7 at CSUN - Smith earned her second-career double double at The Matadome scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Chante Miles
• Dec. 31 vs UMKC- The guard from Compton, Calif. posted her first double double of the season, scoring 18 points and setting a season-high mark with 10 assists on Dec. 31 against UMKC.
BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chante Miles - Dec. 29, 2014 - Jan. 5, 2015
18 points and a career-high 12 assists Dec. 31 vs UMKC...28-point performance Jan. 4 vs Seattle...Averaged 23.0 points, 9.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds for the week...First Big West Player of the Week selection for a Fullerton women's basketball player since Megan Richardson won the award Nov. 16, 2009.
BUFFALO WILD WINGS STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jan. 19 - Jan. 25
Chante Miles - 28 points against UCSB on Jan. 24...16th-straight game scoring in double figures...Passed Lauren Chow for 12th place on Titan's all-time scoring list
Nov. 24 - Nov. 30
Chante Miles - 25.3 points per game...3.3 assists per game...38.0 mintues per game
Dec. 1 - Dec. 7
Chante Miles - 22 points per game...became 23rd member of 1,000-point club...extended her streak of scoring in double figures to six-straight games.
Dec. 29 - Dec. 4
Chante Miles - Averaged 23.0 points, 9.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds...moved to 15th on all-time Fullerton scoring list...exended her streak of scoring in double figures to 11-straight games.
Feb. 16 - Feb. 22
Chante Miles - Averaged 24 points, 3 assists and 2.5 steals in 39.5 minutes per game for the week... She poured in 22 points in the first half in a win at Cal Poly, finishing with a career-high 36 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 from deep.
GLOBE TROTTING
Fullerton's global reach became a little longer this season with two newcomers from outside of the U.S. Freshman Amanda Tivenius hailing from Lindingo, Sweden, and Dhanyel Johnson from Spanish Town, Jamaica.
TITANS SIXTH IN BIG WEST POLL
The Big West Preseason Media Poll was released on Oct. 22 with the Titans picked to finish sixth during the 2014-15 season. After sweeping both the regular season and conference tournament titles last season, CSUN is the favorite to take home the crown once again this season. Hawai'i checked in behind the Matadors, earning one first place vote. Cal Poly was voted to finish third after back-to-back trips to the Big West tournament finals and UC Davis finishes the top half of the poll at fourth. Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara round out the rest of the poll.
A LOOK BACK
Cal State Fullerton finished the season 12-18 overall and 8-8 in the Big West conference under first year head coach Daron Park. The 2013-14 squad had its most conference wins since the 2009-10 season.
JOIN "PARK'S PACK"
The Cal State Fullerton women's basketball program invites fans and supporters of the Titans to join "Park's Pack," a club created to allow fans to become engaged specifically with the Fullerton women's basketball team. Membership benefits include an opportunity to support and improve the quality of the program, a regular newsletter with insights from the coaching staff, a lanyard to gain access to select pregame chalk talks, and an invitation to participate in special events with the team.
For more information or to make a gift to the women's basketball team and become a member of "Park's Pack," please make a gift by visiting: http://fullertontitans.com/get_involved/Park-s_Pack
