FULLERTON, Calif. – Fullerton had a tremendous all-around game led by a trifecta of double-double performances to take home a 79-65 victory against California Baptist on Tuesday night.
.@TitansJH giving his thoughts on tonight's big W pic.twitter.com/yWxt7qcdAE
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) November 14, 2018
Daeja Smith led the team once again with a career-high 26 points to go along with 14 rebounds and three blocks. That is now six consecutive double-doubles for the redshirt senior dating back to last season. Carolyn Gill posted her second career double-double with a career-best 14 points to go with 10 rebounds while Raina Perez was the third Titan with a double-double recording 13 points and 13 assists on the night. Amiee Book was perfect on the night putting up 14 points on 6-6 shooting, 2-2 from beyond the arc.
On the other side, the Lancers were led by 12 points from Tiena Afu and Britney Thomas. Both of them tied for the CBU lead with seven rebounds as well. Caitlyn Harper was the only other Lancer in double-figures with 10 points.
The first quarter was a lot of back-and-forth between the two teams as there was five different lead changes and seven different ties throughout the first 10 minutes of play. The Titans (50%) shot a little better than the Lancers (42.1%), but came out trailing by a single point despite eight points from Book.
It was a whole different game in the second as CSF got even better on both ends going 10-15 (66.7%) from the field while holding CBU to 6-21 (28.6%). Led by Hannah Thompson's eight second quarter points, the Titans would go on a 9-0 scoring run and carry a seven-point lead into halftime.
Fullerton really broke it open in the third quarter and it was thanks in part to Smith's breakout performance. Thanks to 4-5 shooting and 2-2 from the strike, the redshirt senior exploded for 10 points in the quarter to go along with four rebounds as she had her double-double with another quarter to play. Gill also chipped in six points as well as Fullerton would have their lead up to 14 points with less than two minutes left before the fourth.
The fourth quarter came down to the Fullerton defense as they just needed to stop California Baptist and hold on to their double-digit lead. Ultimately, that's exactly what they did. Holding the CBU offense to just 16% from the field, the Titans would claim their second victory of the season, 79-65.
Double-double fest led by Daeja Smith (26pts-16rb-3blk) as #CSF top Cal Baptist 79-65.
— Big West WBB (@BigWestWBB) November 14, 2018
Raina Perez 13pts-13ast.
Carolyn Gill 14&10rb.
RT @FullertonWBB: And just moments later, @daej32 finishes underneath again! Make it a new career-best 24 points �� pic.twitter.com/w5bF9igZkQ
For Cal State Fullerton, the 2-1 start is the best start and first time over .500 since 2015.
They'll look to keep the momentum going on Thursday in the home opener against San Diego State. Tip-off against the Aztecs will be at 7:00 p.m. in Titan Gym.
Homecoming – Saturday, December 1, 2018
Cal State Fullerton is set to host its first ever Double Header at the 2018 Homecoming Event on Saturday, December 1st. Women's Basketball takes on CSU Bakersfield at 2:30pm followed by Men's Basketball taking on Cal Lutheran at 6:00pm. In between the two games fans can take part in the Homecoming pre-game festival. Homecoming package includes general admission to the festival and both Women's and Men's Basketball games, a custom student designed T-shirt, meal voucher for In-N-Out Burger, and non-alcoholic beverages. Click HERE for Homecoming Package options. The pre-game festival begins at 2:00pm, so come early and make a day out of it with the Titans! For more information on Homecoming go to https://alumni.fullerton.edu/studentoutreach/homecoming
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
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Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the softball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonWBB) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonWBB).