LOS ANGELES – Cal State Fullerton received a career-high tying 19 points from Chante Miles and 13 points from Tailer Butler, but couldn't find a way to top Loyola Marymount Tuesday night, falling to the Lions 85-73.
Miles and Butler were the only two Titans to post double-digit scoring performances, while LMU's Alex Cowling went for 28 points by herself on 10-of-14 shooting, vaulting her up to fourth on the West Coast Conference's all-time scoring list (1,823).
Cal State Fullerton (2-2) jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on two Butler treys, before eventually extending the lead to as large as 20-13 with 11:29 left to play in the first half, as Loyola Marymount (3-2) missed five of its first seven shots from the field.
Cowling went for 20 of her game-high 28 points in the first half, fueling a 30-14 offensive spurt that put LMU up 43-34 with 2:10 to play in the first half.
Fullerton committed a season-high tying 14 first half turnovers, which directly led to 15 points for the Lions.
The Titans reached intermission trailing 48-36, matching their biggest deficit of the season up that point. It was also the most points they've surrendered in the first half this year.
Fullerton came out of the gates ice-cold from the field, as it knocked down just one of its first 10 second half shot attempts. The Lions took advantage, stretching their lead to 56-38 with 16:03 left to play in the game.
The Titans would fall down by as many as 20 points, trailing 60-40 with 14:29 left to play, before putting together a little run of their own.
Fullerton got as close as 67-56 with 7:59 left, after freshman Annie Park nailed a trey for her first career points and Miles forced an LMU turnover to take it for two the other way.
However, the Titans would get no closer than that. Despite only turning the ball over six times in the second half, a 38 percent night from the floor and a 60 percent outing from the charity stripe would due them in.
Cal State Fullerton will finish its three-game road trip up in Berkeley, California where it will take on Georgetown in the first game of the Cal Classic at 3:15 p.m on Friday. Depending upon the outcome of that game, Fullerton will either take on Eastern Washington or California on Saturday.