FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton defeated Concordia 83-58 in an Exhibition game Friday night at Titan Gym.
Junior transfer Hannah Thompson had a fantastic first game in Titan Gym as she led all scorers with 26 points in 33 minutes of action shooting 8-14 from the field and 6-10 from beyond the arc. Returner Jade Vega also put in a stellar night with 16 points, while 2016-17 Big West Honorable Mention Daeja Smith put up ten points and pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds. Freshman Triann Thompson also had a nice Titan Gym debut leading the game with five assists and five steals.
On the other side of the court, senior Sopavy Seng led the Eagles with 22 points, shooting 7-15 from the field. Freshman Kennedy Fulcher pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for Concordia. Seng was the only Eagle to score double-digit points.
The Titans struggled out of the gate as the Eagles ended up going on a 12-2 run early in the first quarter. However, that would not last long as Fullerton battled back and came out up a point to end the first period, leading 16-15.
Fullerton's offense caught fire in the second quarter going on a 15-3 run led by H. Thompson as she put up 12 points in the quarter. The Titans would go on to outscore the Eagles 24-10 to close out the first half and it was cruise mode from there.
The Titans may have only outscored the Eagles by five points in the third quarter, but it was still very one-sided. Fullerton shot 57% from the field while only allowing Concordia to shoot 33%. T. Thompson led the way defensively with a pair of steals and the Titans defense caused seven turnovers.
The fourth quarter was the most even quarter as both teams shot over 40% and caused five turnovers respectively, but ultimately the Titans continued to outplay the Eagles. Vega led the way in scoring in the final period scoring seven of her 16 points to end the game.
"It was nice to get a W to start out our season," said head coach Jeff Harada. "But we still have some things to work on. Our offense played well, but we could do a better job at taking care of the basketball."
For the game, the Titans shot 45% from the field including 47% from three-point range. While the team did shoot very well, turnovers were a bit of an issue as they turned the ball over 16 times. However, their defense was equally as impressive only allowing Concordia to shoot 35% from the field and forced 23 turnovers.
Cal State Fullerton's official season opener is next Friday, Nov. 11 on the road against Santa Clara.
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