FULLERTON, Calif. – Fullerton absolutely dominated Utah Valley in a 73-36 win on Saturday. The Titans shot a blistering 31-50 (62%) from the field and 8-17 (47.1%) from three. The victory marks the first three-game winning streak since they won four straight starting back on Dec 31, 2014 through Jan 15, 2015.
"I loved our energy, especially on the defensive end tonight," said head coach Jeff Harada. "We stuck to the game plan and worked hard on every possession. It was fun to watch I'm proud of our efforts to limit their top two scorers.
Once we started hitting some three's it really opened up the paint for Daeja and she finished well tonight. Hannah stayed hot the entire game and I thought we worked for the best shot instead of settling for the quick shot leading to our high percentage. 26 assists on 31 made shots is awesome!"
Fullerton had no 20-point performances going into Saturday's contest and they finished the game with two. Junior Daeja Smith recorded her sixth double-double of the season with a career-high 22 points and 12 rebounds while junior Hannah Thompson put up 21 points off the bench. Junior Jade Vega also recorded a double-figure scoring game with 11 points to go along with four assists. Freshman Triann Thompson did a little bit of everything in the win finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.
Utah Valley's offense could not get anything going against the Fullerton defense as they shot 14-56 (25%) from the field and finished with just 36 points. Only one Wolverine reached double-figures as Taylor Christensen put up 10 points. She also led the team with five rebounds.
The Titans absolutely dominated in the first half shooting 16-25 (64%) from the field and 6-11 (54.5%) beyond the arc. Led by H. Thompson's eight first quarter points, Fullerton took the early lead and held onto it with great defense and some very hot shooting. The Wolverines were held to a very low 22.2% from the field for the half and only scored 15 points. Thanks to a 15-1 scoring run to end the half, CSF was leading UVU by 23 points at the break despite 14 turnovers.
Fullerton did not let up in the second half as they shot 15-25 (60%) and held Utah Valley to 8-29 (27.6%) from the field. The third started off as the Titans continued their scoring run and had it up to 20-1 before the Wolverines put an end to it. Smith's 14 points led the way while T. Thompson put up eight points and dished out five assists in the half. The Titans finished with 73 points matching their highest scoring outing of the season and would go on to win their third straight.
Harada went on to say, "Just a great overall win for us and a great feeling going into the break. This team deserves a lot of credit so I'm happy for them."
The Titans return home for one more game before the New Year as the Miners of UTEP come to Titan Gym on Dec. 29. The game is the final non-conference matchup for Fullerton with tip-off happening at 7pm PT.
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