FULLERTON, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team is set to host the UNLV Lady Rebels on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT in Titan Gym for the first home game of the 2020-21 season. The game will be played without fans and will be broadcast live online.
MATCHUP HISTORY
The Titans are 9-34 all-time against UNLV. The most recent matchup was a Fullerton victory on Nov. 9, 2019 by a score of 64-58 in Las Vegas.
LAST TIME OUT
Fullerton dropped the season opener at UCLA on Nov. 27. The Bruins are ninth in the nation in the latest Associate Press rankings. Junior Amiee Book scored a team-high 20 points inlcuding four three-point field goals made. Senior forward Joy Krupa led the team in rebounds with seven while also contributing five points, three assists and two steals.
Freshman guard Gabi Vidmar played well in her collegiate debut with five points, two rebounds and two assists. Fellow freshman Ashlee Lewis pitched in eight points and six rebounds off the bench in her debut as well.
SCOUTING REPORT
UNLV nearly rallied from a big fourth-quarter deficit, coming from down 17 to within two in the final seconds before eventually falling 79-75 to Northern Arizona in the season opener for both teams at the Thomas & Mack Center on Nov. 27. The game marked the debut of new UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque. In her first game as a Lady Rebel, sophomore Delaynie Byrne claimed her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while knocking down a team-high four three-pointers. UNLV had two players with double-doubles, as Wilfred added 10 rebounds in her first career start to go along with her 11 points. She came into the year with just 10 career points and 14 career rebounds in 15 appearances as a freshman last season.
2019-20 SEASON RECAP
The team returns seven of the top nine scorers from the 2019-20 squad that went 17-14 overall and posted the first winning season since 1991. Senior Carolyn Gill, who was named the 2019 Big West Hustle Player of the Year and was a member of the Big West All-Defensive Team. She posted numbers of 8.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Junior Amiee Book is back after tallying 12.7 points per game last season, the third-best mark on the squad. Opportunities are there for the taking this year as 2020 Big West Player of the Year Raina Perez transferred to North Carolina State and senior guard Taylor Turney opted out of playing the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19.
2020-21 ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Junior Amiee Book scored in double figures 16 times last season and was third on the team with 12.7 points per game. She led the team with 46 three-point field goals made while also pitching 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Senior Carolyn Gill tallied 8.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game last season and will look take more of an aggressive role in the offense this season. Senior Joy Krupa is back after playing the first nine games of last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Krupa was off to a great start, averaging 10.7 rebounds to go with 4.4 points and 3.1 assists per game. Sophomores Anniken Frey and Megan Nieto played in all 31 games last year at roughly 10 minutes per game but will likely see increased opportunities this season.
NEWCOMERS
Head coach Jeff Harada and his staff brought in three freshman to join the squad as well as one junior college transfer. Center Ashlee Lewis from Cerritos and Australian guards Gabi Vidmar and Bella Stratford make up the freshmen class. Junior guard Pressila Blanco made the move to Fullerton from Cypress College. With guard spots available for the taking, look for Vidmar and Stratford to battle with the returners for those minutes.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
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 basketball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonWBB) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonWBB).
