STOCKTON, Calif. – Four Titans score in double-digits, but it wasn't enough to beat Pacific on Monday night as the Tigers defeated Fullerton 81-65 on Monday night.
"Proud of the way we fought back after digging ourselves that early hole," said head coach Jeff Harada. "Just too many mistakes and Pacific made us pay for them. They're a good team and hopefully we can learn some great lessons from this game."
Freshman Ashlee Ane and junior Hannah Thompson led the team in scoring with 13 points each while junior Jade Vega contributed 10 points and pulled down five rebounds. Junior Daeja Smith pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points in the effort. And senior China Henderson had her first double-digit scoring game of the season as she put up 11 points and pulled down three rebounds.
Pacific's Anaya Brooklyn McDavid led all scorers with 17 points to go along with nine rebounds. GeAnna Lualulu-Summers contributed 14 points while Chelsea Lidy was the only other Tiger in double-digits with 10. On the boards, Jenelle Grant reeled in a game-high 19 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive end.
The Titans struggled in the first quarter both offensively and defensively. Offensively, they shot just 4-14 (28.6%) from the field and turned the ball over eight times. Defensively, they didn't have an answer for Pacific's fast-paced transition offense. The Tigers led by as many as 15 and ended the quarter with a 22-9 lead.
The second quarter was a lot better for the Titans as they picked it up defensively and looked a lot better overall. While only allowing the Tigers to score nine points in the quarter, Vega led the team's comeback run scoring nine of her ten points in the second quarter and had the lead cut to as little as five and went into the half trailing by six points.
Fullerton continued to play better offensively and a couple of three-pointers from Ane and H. Thompson brought the team back within three at one point, but Pacific's fast-paced offense was once again too difficult to stop. Shooting 9-16 (56.3%) from the field, the Tigers extended their lead back into double-digits by the end of the quarter.
Trailing by 14 going into the fourth quarter, the Titans started to make one final push to bring things back. Led by a couple big three-pointers from Ane, Fullerton managed to go on a 13-3 run and cut the lead to as few as six with just over a minute to play. But Pacific got some defensive stops and ultimately put the game too far out of reach for the Titans.
Fullerton will play return to So-Cal for their next game as they head down to San Diego State to face off against the Aztecs on Saturday, Nov 18.
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