FULLERTON, Calif.—Cal State Fullerton had a chance to win the game, as Annie Park heaved up a half-court shot as time expired, but the ball fell just short of the rim and the Titans dropped a 58-56 heartbreaker to Long Beach State Thursday night at Titan Gym.
The Titans trailed by as many as 14 points early in the second half, but Fullerton slowly chipped away, converting on every one of its final 10 free throw attempts.
Alex Thomas nailed a three-pointer from the right side with 27 second left to play to bring the Titans within 57-56. Katheen Iwuoha then gave Fullerton a very real chance to win the game, as she stole the ensuing Long Beach State inbounds pass.
With three seconds left in the game, Chante Miles drove down the lane and put up a shot in traffic, but was called for an offensive foul to essentially decide the game for the Titans.
For Fullerton (7-16, 3-8 Big West), it's now its fourth straight home loss and seventh consecutive defeat overall. Conversely for Long Beach State (13-11, 6-6 Big West), the win marks its second straight after dropping its pervious three games.
Annie Park and Alex Thomas led the Titans in scoring, pouring in 12 points each while Chante Miles finished in double figures for the first time since Jan. 5 vs. Cal State Northridge, as she recorded 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
The 49ers' Alex Sanchez led all scorers with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Ella Clark was the only other 49er to record double figures in the scoring column, while she collected 10 points and three rebounds.
It was truly a tale of two halves for the Titans, as they shot 5-for-27 in the first half for 18.5 percent, only to turn around in the second half and connect on 11-of-23 field goal attempts for 47.8 percent. It was the same story at the free throw line, as Fullerton went just 3-of-9 for 33.3 percent in the first half, only to respond by knocking down 15-of-21 free throws for 71.4 percent after halftime.
The 49ers had just a little much offensively Thursday, as they shot 47.2 percent from the field and converted on 21-of-29 free throws for 72.4 percent on the night.
The Titans will get back after it this Saturday when they travel to Irvine to take on the UC Irvine Anteaters at 5 p.m. in the Bren Events Center.
Game Notes: Lauren Bushong's block tonight gave her 68 for her career, which moves her into third on the school's all-time block list.