FULLERTON, Calif. – The Titans women's basketball team (10-5, 2-0 BWC) won their sixth game in a row on Saturday night, and are off to their best start since the 1990-91 season.
Fullerton defeated arch-rival Long Beach State 69-65 in a spirited back-and-forth contest where neither team had any quit in them. A dagger-three by Taylor Turney with 1:15 left in the game gave The Titans a two-point lead. Two clutch Carolyn Gill free throws sealed the deal and put the Titans up by four points. A last second Long Beach three-point attempt went wide, even though it couldn't have won the game.
Said head coach Jeff Harada: "What a great game to be a part of tonight. Both teams played well enough to win, but we stayed composed through adversity and competed for 40 minutes to earn a big win over a tough Long Beach team.
"I can't say enough about our team, and when I say team, I mean it in the truest sense of the word. Tonight, Raina (Perez) didn't score like she normally does, but others stepped up in her place and everyone came in and contributed in a positive way.
"Amiee (Book), Taylor (Turney), and Carolyn (Gill) hit some key shots, and Maddie (Freemon) and Megan (Nieto) came up big for us in key stretches. Raina found other ways to impact the game with five assists and five steals. Getting that win was the most important thing to her, and all of us. I'm so proud of our effort and the toughness that this team has demonstrated."
Sophomore forward Amiee Book led all scorers with 21 points, including 4-6 from 3-point range, and led the Titans with seven rebounds. Carolyn Gill scored 11 points and hauled down six boards. Madison Freemon and Taylor Turney scored in double-figures, each notching 10 points. Megan Nieto made a major contribution off of the bench, scoring eight points and dishing four assists. Raina Perez, averaging 22.5 points, was held to only seven by the tough Beach defense.
On the night, the Titans outrebounded the Beach 35-30, shot a very nice 49.1% from the floor, a fiery 8-16 (50.0%) from behind the 3-point arc, and were 9-13 (69.2%) from the charity stripe for their second conference win.
Cal State Fullerton will go on the road next week to play at Cal State Northridge on Thursday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m., and at Hawai'i at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 18.
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