MALIBU, Calif. – Freshman Michelle Berry recorded her first career double-double and senior Karima Gabriel scored 16 points en route to the Titans first loss of the season as they fell to Pepperdine 81-75 on Friday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Titans drop to 2-1 while having their third consecutive game scoring at least 75 points.
"I give a lot of credit to Pepperdine tonight," said third-year head coach Daron Park. "This was their home opener and they came out in attack mode and played with a great sense of urgency."
Berry had 21 points on the night and logged 13 rebounds to record the first double-double of her career while posting her third-straight 20-point game.
Gabriel shot a .500 field goal percentage while going 6-9 at the free throw line to chip in 16 points, a season-high for the senior.
In the first period, the Titans put up 21 points thanks to the duo of Berry and Sami Logan who combined for 14 in the first 10 minutes.
In the second period, the Titans capitalized on some back-to-back turnovers by the Waves to extend their lead to seven. After a Pepperdine timeout, the Waves came back with back-to-back layups to close the Titan lead to only three.
After extending their lead, Pepperdine came back in the last minute with back-to-back three pointers to put them ahead 37-36 at the half.
Berry ended the first half with 10 points and six rebounds while Logan chipped in 6 points.
In the second half, Pepperdine carried the momentum all the way through leaving the Titans to battle back for the final 20 minutes.
The Waves outrebounded the Titans 49-37 while Fullerton shot only 35.9% overall and only 26.9% from behind the arc, both season lows.
Logan scored a season-high 10 points and chipped in seven rebounds and was one of four Titans to score in double-digits.
"Our effort, energy and enthusiasm wasn't consistent enough tonight to win a basketball game on the road," said Park. "We have to learn from this quickly and move on because we have another challenge on Sunday."
The Titans return to Fullerton to host Weber State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Titan Gym.
NOTES: The Titans are now 9-13 all-time against Pepperdine… The Titans have started the combination of Vega, Logan, Craig, Berry and Gabriel every game thus far this season….
Tickets
Season and single-game tickets for the 2015-16 Cal State Fullerton women's basketball season are on sale NOW. The schedule is highlighted by 14 home dates including six non-conference home games and visits from Portland State, San Diego and Eastern Washington. For more information about purchasing season or single-game tickets, click HERE.
Women's Basketball Season Ticket Prices: Courtside Seats - $128* General Admission Adult / Senior - $78* General Admission Youth - $65*
Regular Season games: Courtside Seats - $20 | General Admission Adult - $8 | General Admission Senior (65+) | $7 General Admission | Youth (3-12) - $6
Season tickets can now be purchased online (24 hours a day) for the both the men's and women's programs. In addition, season tickets can be purchased in person at the Athletics Ticket Office, and over the phone at 657-278-2783. For more information, click HERE
