FULLERTON, Calif. – Winning is surely the best medicine. Trailing 62-63 with 1:46 to play, Raina Perez knocked down a jumper to give Fullerton a 64-63 lead. Amiee Book added a free throw to improve Fullerton's lead to 65-63 with 33 seconds left. In an nail-biting finish, Cal Poly's Malia Holt was only able to make one of two free throws, and despite getting the offensive rebound, the Mustangs were unable to convert a shot at the buzzer. Titans win 65-64.
With the victory, the Titans (11-8, 3-3 BWC) were able to snap a three-game losing streak, and will have Saturday off to rest some weary bodies.
Said head coach Jeff Harada: "I'm definitely happy that we came out on the winning side tonight. Credit Cal Poly. They basically outplayed and outworked us in the first half, and we just didn't look like ourselves. I was pleased with our response coming out of halftime, as we picked it up on the defensive end, rebounded better, and stopped beating ourselves.
"Any win is a good win, especially when you're on a losing streak, so this one feels good, but we need to be a lot better going forward if we expect to be contenders in the conference."
Fullerton was led by Raina Perez and her 16 points and six assists. Despite being held scoreless at halftime, Amiee Book rallied back in the second half to score 14 points and haul down six rebounds. Taylor Turney also logged in double-figures with 13 points and four assists. Starters Carolyn Gill and Maddie Freemon each had seven points. Gill also helped to lead the Fullerton comeback effort with 8 boards, four steals and two blocks.
After shooting an ice-cold 1-13 in the second quarter, Fullerton battled back to finish the night with a 23-54 (42.6%) field goal percentage. The Titans were, however, outrebounded by the Mustangs 33-41. Turnovers were even with 16 apiece, but the Titans were able to convert those Mustang turnovers to 21 points.
The Titans will stay at home next week to face UC Davis on Thursday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m., and UC Riverside on Saturday, February 8 at 5:00. p.m. in historic Titan Gym.
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