FULLERTON, Calif. – CSUN's Channon Fluker proved why she has been named Big West Conference Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks, leading the Matadors to a 71-54 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night at Titan Gym.
The Titans, who have lost nine in a row, drop to 4-22 overall and 1-12 in the Big West Conference, while CSUN, winners of eight in a row, improve to 16-11 overall and 9-4 in league play.
Fluker scored a team-leading 17 points to go along with seven rebounds, a game-high seven assists and a game-high seven blocks, while Tessa Boagni poured in 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Hayley Tanabe added 12 points, shooting 4-of-4 from three-point range and Serafina Maulupe chipped in 10 points for CSUN.
For the Titans, Iman Lathan led Fullerton for the 16th time this season scoring a game-high 23 points, while Jordan Jackson also finished in double figures with 11. Daeja Smith added nine points and two blocked shots.
CSUN shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) for the game, totaling 25 assists, while Fullerton was held to a clip of .357 (20-of-56) with just eight helpers.
The Matadors also held a massive rebounding advantage, 46-27, scoring 15 second-chance points on 16 offensive boards. CSUN's bench outscored Fullerton 23-4.
CSUN led 36-19 at halftime as six different Matadors were on the scoreboard in the first 20 minutes.
A quick 6-0 run on three consecutive baskets from Lathan cut the CSUN lead to 30-18 with 3:44 left in the first half, but the Matadors ended the frame on a 6-1 run.
CSUN scored on its first six consecutive possessions, taking a 12-5 lead with 5:41 remaining in the first before the Titans were able to make their first stop. The Matadors shot a 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the floor in the first quarter and led by as many as 16 in the game's first 10 minutes.
The Titans will honor senior Dhanyel Johnson prior to Saturday's tip-off against Hawai'i at Titan Gym with game time scheduled for 6 p.m. The game against the Rainbow Wahine will be the final home game for Cal State Fullerton this season and will conclude a four-game homestand for the Titans.
Notes: Fullerton's first basket of the game was a three-pointer from Daeja Smith, just the second of her career…CSUN scored on its first six consecutive possessions…Cal State Fullerton has not held the lead in a game this season on nine occasions, including the last four…Fullerton's bench was held scoreless in the first half…the Titans matched a season low committing only eight turnovers…Iman Lathan led the Titans in scoring for the 16th time this season with 23 points…Lathan has produced ten 20-point games…CSF leads the all-time series with CSUN 32-22 but has lost 13 in a row…13 players appeared in the game for CSUN compared to eight for Fullerton.
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