ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team gave top-seeded Hawai'i all they could handle in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament at Honda Center on Friday afternoon, but ultimately fell to the Rainbow Wahine, 73-64, behind Shawna-Lei Kuehu's 18 points and six assists and a double double from Destiny King.
The Titans end the 2014-15 season with a 13-19 overall record, making their ninth overall appearance in the Big West Tournament semifinal round after upsetting No. 6 UC Riverside in the first round and No. 3 Cal Poly in the quarterfinal round at Titan Gym. Fullerton advanced to the semifinals of the postseason conference tournament for the fourth time in the past eight seasons, and the first time under second-year head coach Daron Park.
Kuehu lead the game in both points and assists, doing most of her damage as a facilitator in the post in the opening 20 minutes, and transitioning into a scorer in the final half. The senior scored 12 points in the second half and shot an efficient 5-of-9 from the field in the game. King was the beneficiary of Kuehu's playmaking all night long, scoring 13 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Titans didn't get the start they were hoping for, falling behind 22-7 through the first seven minutes of the game. The deficit was created on the heels of an 11-0 UH run that saw the 'Bows shoot 80 percent (8-of-10) from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc. Undaunted by the hole they found themselves in, the Titans continued to fight and matched UH's every shot from deep, draining 6-of-9 through the first 18 minutes of the opening frame.
Fullerton never led in the half, and trailed by as many as 15 points, but the with every three-point shot that fell for the Titans the Hawai'i lead slowly slipped away. At the half CSF trailed the Rainbow Wahine 36-29.
The Titans shot 39 percent (10-of-26) from the field and a blistering 67 percent (6-of-9) from behind the arc to keep themselves within striking distance of the 'Bows. Hawai'i matched Fullerton's every move, shooting 54 percent (14-of-26) from the field and 55 percent (6-of-11) from three-point territory.
Samantha Logan led the charge for the Titans in the first half with nine points after draining all three of her attempts from behind the three-point line. Kathleen Iwuoha led the CSF effort on the glass after the first 20 minutes, pulling down five rebounds while pitching in three points and one assist.
Fullerton came out in the second half looking like a team that could topple the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament as they quickly erased the Hawai'i advantage to 36-35 behind six unanswered points to open the half. Tailer Butler continued the Titan run with a three pointer to give Fullerton its first lead of the game, 38-36, with 16:04 left to play.
After an exceedingly exciting first 27 minutes of the game, the semifinal matchup between top-seeded Hawai'i and seventh-seeded Fullerton came down to the last 13 minutes as the game was tied at 43-43 with 13:38 on the clock.
Kuehu and Wimbley then led UH on a crucial 8-0 run that saw a deadlocked game turn into a comfortable 51-43 lead for the Rainbow Wahine going into the final 10 minutes. The Titans hadn't backed down from the top-seeded 'Bows all night, and would not start then, as Butler and Iwuoha led a final charge for the Titans to pull them within three points with 6:27 left to play.
A vital rebound and put back by UH's King after a missed Hawai'i free-throw was the final exclamation point to an exciting, hard-fought game as Kuehu knocked down 5-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win for the 'Bows.
The Titans had three scorers in double figures as Butler, Miles and Logan poured in 14, 16 and 15 points, respectively. Miles also played facilitator for the Titans in this game, dishing out a game-high seven assists while pulling down four rebounds. Iwuoha, the leading rebounder in the Big West Conference, had another stellar performance on the glass and grabbed 10 rebounds while just missing her tenth double double of the season by two points, finishing with eight.
The Rainbow Wahine advance on to the Big West Tournament Championship Game on Friday at 3:00 p.m. at the Honda Center and will play the winner of the other semifinal game featuring No. 2 CSUN and No. 5 UC Davis.
Big West All-Tournament Team
Chante Miles - Cal State Fullerton
Alyson Doherty - UC Davis
Destiny King- Hawai'i
Shawna-Lei Kuehu - Hawai'i
Ashley Guay - CSUN
Chante Miles, Cal State Fullerton
Alyson Doherty, UC Davis
Destiny King, Hawai'i
Shawna-Lei Kuehu, Hawai'i
Janae Sharpe, CSUN
Ashlee Guay, CSUN - MVP - See more at: http://www.bigwest.org//story.asp?story_id=18329#sthash.lfUWyRU3.dpuf
Notes: The Titans move to 15-17 all-time against Big West Conference foe Hawai'i…Fullerton's all-time record in the Big West Tournament falls to 18-26…The Titans made their ninth appearance in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament since its inception in the 1984 season…Chante Miles finishes with 1,479 points in her four-year Titan career and will stay in eighth place in the Fullerton record book for career points…Kat Iwuoha's 10 rebounds against Hawai'i pushed her career total to 773, good enough for fourth-place in the Fullerton record book for career rebounds…Chante Miles played her 123 game as a Titan, moving her into second-place in the Fullerton record book for all-time games played in a Titan uniform…The Titans shot 56 percent (10-fo-18) from three-point range against the Rainbow Wahine, their second-highest percentage for the season as their season-high of 60 percent (9-of-15) was posted on Dec. 19 in a win over North Dakota State…Daron Park finishes his second-season on the Titan bench and now has a 23-36 record overall…Seniors Chante Miles, Kathleen Iwuoha, Tailer Butler and Natalie Williams all played their last game in a Titan uniform on Friday afternoon...The 2014-15 Titans posted their ninth double-digit win season in the past 10 years.
Chante Miles, Cal State Fullerton
Alyson Doherty, UC Davis
Destiny King, Hawai'i
Shawna-Lei Kuehu, Hawai'i
Janae Sharpe, CSUN
Ashlee Guay, CSUN - MVP - See more at: http://www.bigwest.org//story.asp?story_id=18329#sthash.lfUWyRU3.dpuf
Chante Miles, Cal State Fullerton
Alyson Doherty, UC Davis
Destiny King, Hawai'i
Shawna-Lei Kuehu, Hawai'i
Janae Sharpe, CSUN
Ashlee Guay, CSUN - MVP - See more at: http://www.bigwest.org//story.asp?story_id=18329#sthash.lfUWyRU3.dpuf