FULLERTON, Calif. – Early turnovers put Cal State Fullerton behind in the first half as they couldn't find an answer to stop Fresno State, dropping its second straight game to start the season, 68-57, at Titan Gym on Saturday afternoon.
Fullerton (0-2) was led by junior guard Chante Miles, who scored 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while picking up two steals and two assists. Redshirt sophomore Hailey King had 11 points and added six rebounds in the loss. Off the bench, junior forward Kathleen Iwuoha chipped in with nine points and four rebounds.
Fresno State (2-1) had four players reach double digits, and was led by Jacinta Vandenberg with 15 points. Alex Sheedy and Taylor Thompson each had 14 points, and off the bench Robin Draper added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
In the first half, turnovers were the story. Fullerton committed 16, which led to 23 points for the Bulldogs, as Fresno committed 11, yielding only nine points for Fullerton. Fresno State went on a 13-4 run late in the first half to push the lead to double digits.
In the second half, both teams traded hoops as the Titans limited their turnovers, but the deficit was too much to overcome, and Fullerton was only able to cut the lead down to nine points, after a pair of free-throws from Alex Thomas, with 12:52 left to play. Fullerton finished the game committing 21 turnovers, leading to 31 points for Fresno State.
The Titans finished the game shooting a season-high 44.7 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from three-point range. Each team finished with 29 rebounds.
After opening up at home, Fullerton heads to New York next week to take on Albany and Columbia on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
Notes: All-time series against Fresno State is now 19-12 in favor of Fullerton…against the Mountain West Conference the Titans are now 49-67 all-time…Fresno State now has won seven of the past eight meetings…redshirt senior Mya Olivier did not play, she is currently out with a knee injury...Chante Miles and Hailey King set their season-high in points.