Cal State Fullerton Notes 
| Cal Poly Notes (HTML)
FULLERTON, Calif.-- Cal State Fullerton (9-18, 5-10 Big West) enters the final home game of the regular season tied for the highly-coveted final Big West tournament spot. The Titans will try to muster up one more home win on senior day when it takes on Cal Poly at 3 p.m. inside Titan Gym.
There will be a live video feed available for Cal State Fullerton's game vs. Cal Poly. To access video for the game visit www.fullertontitans.com, click the women's basketball schedule page then click the "video" link to watch through BigWest.TV.
There will be live audio streaming available for Cal State Fullerton's game vs. Cal Poly. To access audio for the game visit www.fullertontitans.com, click the women's basketball schedule page then click the "audio" link. Patrick Alog will be providing play-by-play, while Gurajpalpreet Sangha will serve as the color commentator.
There will be live stats available for Cal State Fullerton's game vs. Cal Poly. To access live stats for the game visit www.fullertontitans.com, click the women's basketball schedule page then click the "live stats" link.
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A Look at the Series...
Cal State Fullerton (7-12) vs. Cal Poly (10-8)
Overall Record 25-22
Home Record 16-6
Away Record 7-16
Neutral Site Record 2-0
Longest Win Streak 12 games
Longest Losing Streak 7 games
Current Streak Lost 7
Record in Last 10 Meetings 1-9
First Meeting
Feb. 1, 1970 in Fullerton (W, 66-31)
Last Meeting
Jan. 31, 2013 at Cal Poly (L, 78-40)
Last Meeting in Fullerton
Feb. 11, 2012 at Titan Gym (L, 66-48)
Series Notes: In the first meting this season, the Titans ran into trouble from the very beginning, as Cal Poly shot 57 percent for the game to upend Fullerton 78-40. Fullerton failed to record a player in double-figures, as Annie park led the team in scoring with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. Molly Schlemer poured in a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win for Cal Poly... Fullerton's largest margin of victory vs. Cal Poly came in a 90-18 (72 points) win on Jan. 25, 1975 in Fullerton...the Titans' largest margin of defeat came in a 94-55 loss (39 points) on Feb. 4, 2000 in San Luis Obispo...Cal State Fullerton is in the midst of its longest ever losing streak to Cal Poly at seven games (Last win Feb. 25, 2010, 70-63 in Fullerton)...Fullerton has also dropped three straight home games to Cal Poly...Cal Poly is just one of three Big West teams the Titans have an all-time winning record against (Hawai'i and Cal State Northridge the other two).
More on the Mustangs
Cal Poly (17-9, 11-4 Big West) enters Saturday just a half game back of the conference lead, after winning four in a row and seven of its last eight games....the Mustangs sport three players who average double-figures in points scored in junior center Molly Schlemer (12.7 ppg), sophomore guard Ariana Elegado (11.8 ppg), and senior forward Brittany Woodard (10.6 ppg). Senior guard Kayla Griffin leads the Mustangs in rebounding, as she grabs 7.0 per contest...Cal Poly averages 68.5 points per game while it gives up 64.4 points per contest...the Mustangs lead the conference in field goal percentage (.420) and assists (16.7) per game...the Mustangs and Titans shared four non-conference opponents this season in Oregon State, Nevada, San Francisco, and Loyola Marymount. Cal Poly went 3-1 while the Titans went 1-3 vs. those same teams...Cal Poly was picked to finish fourth in the Big West's preseason poll.
Last Time Out For the Titans
History was made in a big way Thursday night at Titan Gym, as Cal State Fullerton knocked off UC Santa Barbara, 46-38, marking the Titans' first win over the Gauchos since 1995.
For Fullerton (9-18, 5-10 Big West), the win signified the end of what was a 40-game losing streak, which was the second longest losing streak to a conference opponent in all of women's Division-I basketball coming into the game.
"This definitely means a lot," said a smiling head coach Marcia Foster after the win. "There have been a lot of players here at Cal State Fullerton and they've played some really good Santa Barbara teams, and tonight was no exception."
Even more importantly, the win pulls the Titans ahead of UC Riverside (11-15, 4-11 Big West) and into a tie with UC Irvine (9-18, 5-10 Big West) for the eighth and final conference tournament spot, after both the Highlanders and Anteaters lost earlier in the day.
"There have been too many games this season where we've beaten ourselves," said Foster. "Right now everyone is just trying to focus and do their part, and that's what we're doing. We're just playing better basketball right now. We're still right in this."
For UC Santa Barbara (12-15, 8-7 Big West), the loss was its third in the last four games, but it snapped what was a four-game road winning streak.
Alex Thomas and Chante Miles paced the Titans, each pouring in a team-high 11 points. Kathleen Iwuoha also did her part, as she grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and put up eight points in the win.
Nicole Zesbit scored a game-high 12 points, but shot just 3-of-12 from the floor, as the only Gaucho to score in double figures. Four-time Big West Player of the Week Sweets Underwood grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, but was held to just six points on 3-of-9 shooting.
The Titans mustered up one of their best defensive performances in years, as they forced 18 turnovers and held UC Santa Barbara to a historic low 38 points for the ballgame. The 38 points scored is least amount of points a Fullerton opponent has scored since Dayton was held to just 33 points on Dec. 4, 1987.
"We just played really well defensively today," said sophomore guard Chante Miles. "We're playing with a lot of confidence. We just need to keep it up."
Fullerton led wire-to-wire, and already held a 9-0 advantage before UC Santa Barbara scored its first bucket with already 8:01 gone by in the contest.
The Titans would lead by as many as 10 points in the first half, after Natalie Williams knocked down two free throws to make it a 15-5 Fullerton advantage with 8:12 left in the first half.
The Titans went into halftime with a slim 23-16 lead, but continued to keep the pressure on in the second half, as Fullerton was able to again stretch the advantage to as high as 34-24 with 10:22 left to play in the game after two Thomas free throw conversions.
However, the Gauchos refused to go away, as an 11-5 run got UC Santa Barbara to as close as 39-35 with exactly four minutes to play in the contest, after Melissa Zornig knocked down two free throws.
UCSB would get no closer than that, as Cal State Fullerton closed the game by connecting on 7-of-8 free throws inside of the final four minutes to ice the game for the Titans. For the game, Fullerton shot 21-of-25 from the free throw line for a season-high 84 percent.
Thank You Seniors (Lauren)!
Center Lauren Bushong will be playing her final home game as a Titan Saturday afternoon, accounting for the only senior on the roster. Lauren enters this afternoon's game ranked third all-time on the school's blocked shot list with 69 career stuffs. Her 29 swats during her sophomore season also rank eighth on the school's single-season blocks list. Lauren has played in every game this season and has earned 16 starts for the Titans. She set a new career-high in points scored twice this season, pouring in 15 points vs. both Nevada and San Jose State. She will leave a lasting legacy not only on the basketball court, but in the classroom as well, as she's collected Big West Conference All-Academic honors each of the last two seasons. Lauren is expected to graduate in the spring with a double major in English and Psychology.
The Chase for Eighth
Cal State Fullerton is currently tied with UC Irvine for eighth in the Big West and leads UC Riverside by one game. If the season were to end today, the Titans would claim the final tournament spot, as their head-to-head record with Hawai'i is better than UC Irvine's head-to-head record vs. Hawai'i. Fullerton's remaining opponents have a combined record of 28-17. Here is a look at all three teams' remaining schedules:
Cal State Fullerton (5-10) UC Riverside (4-11) UC Irvine (5-10)
vs. CP (11-4) 0-1 h2h vs. UCSB (8-7) 1-0 h2h vs. Pacific (12-4) 0-1 h2h
vs. CSUN (7-8) 0-1 h2h at UH (10-5) 0-1 h2h at Cal Poly (11-4) 0-1 h2h
at UH (10-5) 1-0 h2h at CSUN (7-8) 0-1 h2h at UCSB (8-7) 0-1 h2h
Historic Night at Titan Gym
Cal State Fullerton's 46-38 victory over UC Santa Barbara Thursday night snapped what was a 40-game losing streak to the Gauchos dating back to Feb. 26, 1995. The streak was the second longest active losing skid to a conference opponent in Divison-I women's basketball... the 38 points scored by UCSB was least amount of points a Fullerton opponent had scored since Dayton was held to just 33 points on Dec. 4, 1987....the 38 points scored was also the lowest point total recorded in any Big West game this season
It's Better at the Top
The Titans took a 33-32 lead over UC Davis last Saturday afternoon at the 10:17 mark of the second half and haven't trailed since. The Titans have now led for 50 minutes and 17 seconds of basketball action after trailing for 70 minutes and 26 seconds prior...Thursday night vs. UC Santa Barbara was the first time the Titans haven't trailed at any point in a game this season.
Forcing the Issue
Over the last three contests the Titans have forced 71 turnovers for an average of 23.6 turnovers per game...Fullerton's 30 turnovers forced last Saturday at UC Davis were the most turnovers the Titans have caused since they also forced 30 on Jan. 25, 2012 vs. Cal State Northridge...10 turnovers committed by the Titans Thursday night were the second fewest this season (9 vs. Hawai'i on Jan. 3, 2013).
Everything but the Finish
In the game of basketball, sometimes you can do everything right, but if you don't put the ball in the basket, you're going to have a tough time winning the game. While the Titans rank in the top four in the conference in six separate categories, scoring is not one of them, as the Titans rank ninth in scoring offense, 10th in field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. Fullerton's season field goal percentage of 31.4 percent is 340th out of 343 teams nationally, while its three-point field goal percentage of 26 percent is ranked 250th, and its 54.6 points per game in ranked 294th nationally.
Good, Now Do it Again
Cal State Fullerton's win Thursday night snapped what was a four-game home losing streak...the Titans haven't won back-to-back home games since Dec. 31 vs Columbia and Jan. 3 vs. Hawai'i...Fullerton hasn't won consecutive conference home games since Feb. 22 and Feb. 25, 2012 vs. UC Riverside and UC Irvine..A Fullerton win Saturday would tie the Titans' longest win streak of the season...nearly 69 percent of the Titans' total wins since the 2005-06 season have come at home.
More Threes Please
Through 15 conference games Annie Park leads the Big West in three-point percentage, as she's connected on 20-of-46 treys for 43.5 percent thus far in league play. She also ranks seventh in three-pointers made per game in Big West play, as she averages 1.7 makes per contest.
Chante's Charity Work
Chante Miles has connected on 15 consecutive free throws with her last miss coming Feb. 21 at Pacific. Miles' 78.9 free throw percentage is sixth best in the Big West...The Titans as a team shot a season-high 84 percent from the free throw line Thursday night...Cal State Fullerton is 3-0 when shooting 80+ percent from the free throw line this season.
Bushong's Block Party
With her one block on Feb. 14 vs. Long Beach State, Lauren Bushong moved into third place on Cal State Fullerton's all-time blocks list. She currently has 69 career blocks and 20 swats on the season.
Riding the Hot Hand
Chante Miles led the Titans in scoring in eight of the first 12 games to start the season. However, over the past 15 contests, six different Titans have led the team in scoring, with Miles being the leading scorer just three times... Alex Thomas, Annie Park and Chante Miles are the only Titans to have led the team in scoring in back-to-back games this year.
The Amazing Alex
During Big West play, Alex Thomas leads the Titans in scoring (10.0 ppg), field goals made (3.4 pg), free throws attempted (3.5 pg), and minutes played (30.9). She's scored in double-digits in a team-leading seven of 15 league games so far this season.
All About Getting Better
Fullerton finished 4-12 in the Big West last season. The Titans already have five conference wins with still three league games left.
What's Trending
The Titans have had more offensive rebounds than the opponent in 23 of 27 games this season...Fullerton has been outscored in the paint in 19 of its last 25 games...the Titans have had at least two double-figure scorers in 11 of their last 17 games...the Titans have won or been equal with the opponent in second-chance points in 15 out of their last 17 games.
Is There a Lid on This Thing?
Over the course of the season, Cal State Fullerton has had field goal droughts of eight minutes or more 11 separate times in 11 different games. The Titans are 2-9 in those games....Seven of them have been 10+ minute droughts. The Titans are 1-6 in those games. (8:15 vs. Eastern Washington, 8:28 at New Mexico, 10:48 at Gonzaga, 8:44 at Oregon State, 10:26 vs. Columbia, 12:56 vs. Cal State Northridge, 9:55 at UC Riverside, 13:52 at Long Beach State, 11:21 vs. UC Davis, 10:25 at UC Santa Barbara, and 12:03 at UC Irvine).
Heartbreak City
Eleven of 26 games this season have been decided by six points or less. Fullerton is just 3-8 in those contests...Five games have been decided by two points or less, the Titans are 1-4 in those games...in the six losses, Fullerton either had the lead, was tied, or was within one possession with under three minutes to play...at one point this season the Titans were 2-5 but still didn't have a negative point differential (449-449).
Living Pretty in the 60's
The Titans are 7-2 when scoring 60+ points this season, compared to a 2-16 mark when scoring under 60 points...Fullerton is 5-0 when scoring between 60 and 65 points this season...the Titans are also 4-1 when shooting between 40-49.9 percent this season.
Finding the Right Mix
Cal State Fullerton has used 13 different starting lineups and has only sent out the same starting five in consecutive games four times this season...No Titan has started in every game this season.
Miles Ahead of the Rest
Chante Miles has scored in double-figures in 15 of her first 25 games played to start the season...Miles has scored 17+ points in six of 25 games played this season...Titans are just 1-9 when she fails to score in double figures...Miles currently leads the Titans in scoring (10.5 ppg), total points (262), field goals made (86), assists (3.0 apg), steals (2.1 spg), and minutes (31.5 mpg).
Cleaning Up the Mess
Kathleen Iwuoha is making her presence felt on the glass this season. She currently leads the team in overall rebounding (7.3 rpg), offensive rebounding (3.2 rpg), and defensive rebounding (4.0 rpg). Her overall rebounding ranks seventh in the conference while her offensive rebounding ranks fifth.
Recycled Notes
Tailoring Greatness
Tailer Butler's 27 points scored on Jan. 3 vs. Hawai'i was the most by any Titan since Megan Richardson also posted 27 points Dec. 12, 2011 vs. San Jose State...Butler's 27 points were also the most points any Titan had produced off the bench since Lauren Chow scored 28 points Nov. 17, 2007.
Titans Ink Four Recruits for 2012-13
Head coach Marcia Foster announced on Nov. 19 that four high school seniors have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at Cal State Fullerton. Casey Williams, Chelsea Waddy, Samantha Logan, and Priscilla Brooks' four years of eligibility will start at the beginning of the 2013-14 academic school year.
"This is very strong class with great students and overall just great people," Foster said. "They all fit into our mold of being a hard-working bunch. We look for blue-collar kids with talent and that's what we have in this class. I expect all of these kids to be able to contribute right away next year."
All four recruits played at California high schools and are expected to play high school basketball their senior years.
Casey Williams • G • 5-8 • Sacramento High School, Calif.
Averaged 7.6 points, 2.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game as a junior at Sacramento High School…Is a one-year varsity letter winner…Recorded a career-high 15 points vs. Modesto Christian High School on Dec. 30, 2011…Grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds vs. Kennedy High School Feb. 2, 2012…Helped lead the Dragons to a 27-7 overall record and a 14-0 league mark in 2011-12…Sacramento advanced to the CIF Division III semifinals, beating San Marin 72-34 in round two before eventually falling to Miramonte 71-64.
Chelsea Waddy • F/C • 6-1 • Rialto Carter High School, Calif.
Averaged 12.9 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game as a junior at Rialto Carter High School…Is a three-year varsity letter winner…Put up 18 double-digit scoring outings as a junior…Recorded 21 double-digit rebounding performances last season, including 10 consecutive 10+ rebound games from Nov. 30- Dec. 29, 2011…Led her team in points per game (12.9), total points (336), field goals made (114), Free throws made (104), free throws attempted (151), blocked shots per game (3.4), total blocked shots (89), rebounds per game (12.2), and total rebounds (317) last season.
Samantha Logan • G/F • 5-9 • Centennial High School, Calif.
Averaged 7.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game as a junior at Centennial High School...Is a three-year varsity letter winner...Led Centennial in rebounds per game (9.2) and total rebounds (240) last season…Put up 23 points (career high) and 16 rebounds Dec. 3, 2011 vs. Rialto High School…Recorded a career-high 25 rebounds Feb. 19, 2011 vs. California High School her sophomore year… Helped lead the Huskies to a CIF Division-I playoff birth both her sophomore and junior years, including a quarterfinal appearance two seasons ago.
Other Notes: Her father, Matt Logan is currently the head coach of Centennial High School's football team. Samantha played in one of Centennial's football games last October. She suited up at quarterback and completed a pass vs. Roosevelt High School in Centennial's annual "Pink Game" (The purpose of wearing pink was to raise awareness for breast cancer). Both her and the receiver she completed the pass to lost their mothers due to breast cancer. She has a goal of becoming the first ever female in California to throw a high school touchdown pass.
Priscilla Brooks • C/F • 5-10 • JW North High School, Calif.
Averaged 15.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.7 steals as a junior at JW North High School…Is a one-year varsity letter winner… Recorded 26 double-digit scoring performances, including a streak 15 consecutive double-digit games…Pulled down double-digit rebounds 13 times last season…Recorded a career-high 26 rebounds March 10, 2012 vs. Monache High School…Put in a career-high 30 points Feb. 1, 2012 vs. Roosevelt High School…Helped lead JW North to a 31-6 overall record, 12-2 league mark, and a trip to the CIF Division-II championship game after the school totaled just four wins (one league win) a year ago.
Breaking Down the Titans
Cal State Fullerton returns two starters and seven letterwinners overall from last season's squad that finished 11-19 overall and 4-12 in the Big West Conference, good enough for eighth place. The Titans were the No. 8 seed in last year's conference tournament, falling to top-seeded Cal Poly in the opening round for a second consecutive season, 71-53.
A new era of Fullerton basketball begins after the team says goodbye to two of the top three scorers from a year ago in Megan Richardson (16.1 ppg) and Lauren Chow (8.1 ppg) due tograduation. However, the Titans will have some stability with the return 2012 All-Big West honorable mention Mya Olivier who returns as the team's leading rebounder (7.4 rpg) from a season ago. Twenty-six game starter Kathleen Iwuoha also returns looking to build off a solid freshman campaign where she averaged 5.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
My-oh-Mya
After suffering a season-ending injury early into the 2010-11 season, she rebounded in a positive manner last year, finishing as the team's leading rebounder (7.4 rpg) and second on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) in addition to earning a Big West Honorable Mention...Olivier started her first game of the season Nov. 23 vs. Georgetown.
Straight From the Coach's Mouth
Be sure to visit www.fullertontitans.com and click on the women's basketball page to watch the 2012-13 women's basketball preview video featuring head coach Marcia Foster.
Titans Tabbed 10th in Big West Media Poll
The Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team was picked to finish 10th in the 2012-13 Big West Conference race according to a vote of league media members released by the conference office on Oct. 24.
The Titans received 29 points to finish just behind Orange County rival UC Irvine, which was ninth with 65 points. Cal State Northridge managed to edge out Pacific as the favorite to take home the conference crown with six first place votes and 161 points overall. Pacific was tabbed second with 159 points (five first place votes), UC Santa Barbara third with 153 points (three first place votes), Cal Poly fourth with 127 votes (one first place vote), Long Beach State fifth with 116 points (one first place vote), Hawai'i sixth with 81 points, UC Davis seventh with 80 first place votes, and UC Riverside eighth with 74 points.
Filling in the Holes
Cal State Fullerton returns just 52 percent of its 1,830 points scored, 60 percent of its rebounds, 53 percent of its field goals made, 28 percent of its three-pointers made, 61 percent of its free throws made, 43 percent of its assists, and 63 percent of its steals from a season ago.
New Kids on the Block
The Titans bring in four new faces to this year's squad, but only two true freshmen compared to the seven that joined last year's team. The Titans welcome Brianna Barfield (TR, Citrus JC), Xava Grooms (TR, Utah State), Briana Hubbard (FR), and Annie Park (FR).
You Can't Teach Tall
This year's Titan squad could be one of the tallest in recent memory; featuring six players listed at 6-feet or taller –tied for the tallest Fullerton squad since the 2007-08 team listed seven players taller than 6-foot.
Tourney Tested
The Titans will face a schedule loaded with postseason participants in 2011-12 as they will face three (with a fourth possible depending upon the outcome of the Cal Classic Nov. 23- 24th) NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago (Georgetown, Gonzaga, Big West rival UC Santa Barbara, and possibly California) as well as five WNIT teams from 2011-12 in Oregon State, Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Pacific, and UC Davis for a total of at least eight tournament teams. That matches the amount faced last season.
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Cal State Fullerton boasts a rigorous 12-game non-conference schedule that includes one neutral contest against a team hovering near the AP preseason top 25 rankings in No. 33 Georgetown. Depending upon the outcome of the first game of the Cal Classic (Nov. 23- Nov. 24th) the Titans could also square off against No. 13 California in Berkeley. Seven of the Titans' 12 non-conference affairs will be played away from Titan Gym. Gonzaga is also ranked 29th in the USA Today preseason coaches poll (California 15th, Georgetown 30th).
California Dreamin'
All 14 players on the roster call California home. Twelve of the 14 players are from Southern California while two are from up north. All three assistant coaches completed their undergraduate degrees at Southern California institutions as well. (Lori Morris at San Diego, Jorge Cerna at San Diego State, and Monica Quan at Concordia)
Fullerton's Fountian of Youth
The Titans come into the 2012-13 season tied for the sixth youngest team in Division I basketball, with the team's average experience being one year per player. The program holds five freshman, five sophomores, three juniors (with one being a JC transfer in Brianna Barfield), and one senior. The Titans have lost three starters from last year's squad in senior Megan Richardson, senior Lauren Chow, and junior Alicya Crisp. Sophomore center Jasmine Grayson left the program as well
Aloha Hawai'i!
The Big West Conference welcomes the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team back to the league for its second stint as a Big West women's basketball participant. The Rainbow Wahine were members of the Big West from 1984-1996.
Cal State Fullerton will play 18 conference games (one home, one away vs. Hawai'i added) instead of the traditional 16 games as has been done in years past. The Titans will still play 29 regular season games, two non-conference games have been subtracted. The top eight teams in the conference will still qualify for the Big West Tournament.