HONOLULU – Cal State Fullerton women's basketball battled Hawai'i down to the wire but came up short in its Big West opener, losing 52-54 Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Titans are now 5-6 on the year and 0-1 in conference play.
After getting a huge stop on the defensive end, the Titans trailed 50-52 with under one minute remaining in the game when Ashlee Lewis grabbed an offensive rebound and finished the put-back to tie the game at 52 with 34 seconds left.
.@ashleelewis_32! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/1RWVJQIINd
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) January 9, 2022
Amy Atwell responded with a layup underneath the hoop with five seconds left to put Hawai'i up 54-52, ultimately securing the win for the Rainbow Wahine. Atwell had a game-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
After not playing since Dec. 21, the Titans started the game with a lot of energy and didn't show any signs of rust, opening the game on a 22-9 extended run.
Hawai'i took its first lead of the game midway through the third quarter before Una Jovanovic hit a three to retake the lead at 42-41. The Titans led for a majority of the game, having control for 31 minutes.
Big three from Una Jovanovic to retake the lead! ��#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/4HeAw9Etx8
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) January 9, 2022
With the Titans trailing by five points late in the fourth quarter Carolyn Gill grabbed an offensive board and found Lily Wahinekapu for a three-pointer to bring Fullerton two points to give the team momentum late.
Bang! ��#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/3LPYX27nFn
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) January 9, 2022
Wahinekapu had a team-high nine points to go along with three assists and five rebounds. Fujika Nimmo and Lewis each scored eight points. Nimmo had a tied for game-high five assists while Lewis recorded a team-high seven rebounds.
The Titans return to the mainland and head to the valley to face CSUN Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Matadome.
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