Posted: Nov 19, 2014
Box Score (PDF)
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team lost its second consecutive game to open the 2014-15 season to San Diego, 60-54, at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Tuesday night behind a double-double from USD's Sophia Ederaine (13 points, 10 rebounds) and a game-high 18 points from Katherine Hamilton.
The Titans (0-2) gave the Toreros a scare in the last minutes of the game with a furious three-point barrage that shrunk USD's second-half lead from its highest at 52-35, down to 58-54 with under one minute left. In the last five minutes of the game, the Titans went 5-of-5 from beyond the three-point line, with Samantha Logan and Portia Neale draining two each, and Chante Miles making one.
The difference in the game was San Diego's domination on the boards, as the Toreros (2-0) out-rebounded the Titans 55-38 overall. The 35 offensive rebounds for USD contributed heavily to the outcome of the game, as the Toreros put in 17 second-chance points compared to the Titans nine.
Freshman Amanda Tivenius had a big night for the Titans as she poured in a career-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and brought down six rebounds, just one behind the team-leader, Logan, who finished with seven rebounds.
"You saw tonight what we saw Amanda do all fall, " head coach Daron Park said after the game. "At the start of the season she has been getting in foul trouble, but we saw tonight in the second half she was able to defend and move her feet to stay on the floor and get into a rhythm."
Daeja Smith put in her second consecutive solid outing for the Titans with 13 points and four rebounds. Miles followed up her solid season opener on Sunday with six points and a game-high six assists against San Diego on Tuesday.
"I thought our kids really battled, I thought we played hard collectively as a unit for the first time this year," Park said. "Effort and enthusiasm are the cornerstones of this program. "We still have a lot of mistakes and things to correct, but our challenge to this group is to get better every day. I thought we were better today than we were Sunday and hopefully we can continue to get better for Friday."
The Titans are back at Titan Gym on Friday at 7:00 p.m. to take on Villanova in the first meeting in the history of the two schools.
Notes: The Titans all-time record against San Diego drops to 7-13 with Fullerton's losing streak against the Toreros stretching to eight...Freshman Amanda Tivenius scored a career-high 17 points in just her second regular season game in a Titan uniform…The Titans open the season 0-2 for the second straight year, losing to South Dakota 66-57 and Fresno State 68-57 to open the 2013-14 season…All 11 Titans have seen game action this season through two games, with Samantha Logan leading all Titans at 35.5 minutes per game.
