FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton women's basketball dropped its Big West home-opener to UC Irvine Thursday night at Titan Gym by a final score of 75-67. The Titans are now 6-8 with a 1-3 record in Big West play.
The Titans showed valiant effort, coming back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to eventually tie the game at 60 midway through the fourth quarter. Trailing by 11 points late in the third, Fullerton went on a 9-0 run to close out the quarter and make it a two-point game heading into the final frame.
Kathryn Neff scored six of the Titans' nine points at the end of the third quarter on her way to a career-high 17 points in the game. Neff went 5-of-10 from the field including 2-of-4 from behind the arc. The junior recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 16 rebounds.
.@kathryneff drills a three! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/friNCXvZJj
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) January 21, 2022
Ashlee Lewis dominated in the first half for the Titans, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Lewis finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor.
Textbook two-man game ��#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/GJV8U8vmNZ
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) January 21, 2022
Fujika Nimmo got the Titans going early in the game, scoring five points in the first half while getting Lewis open looks down low, dishing out four assists in the first half of action. Nimmo finished with 10 points and five assists.
That crossover by @fujika_n ��#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/nKmSwmbAcC
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) January 21, 2022
Lily Wahinekapu scored 10 points while recording six assists and four rebounds. Gabi Vidmar added a spark off the bench, scoring nine points while getting stops on the defensive end with three steals.
Defense ➡️ Offense@kathryneff gets the steal and Wahinekapu finishes to cut the Titans deficit to single digits! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/BjzbGrB7hP
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) January 21, 2022
Great cut by @gabvidmar!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/OJzaLBpBbl
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) January 21, 2022
UC Irvine's Kayla Williams scored a game-high 25 points to go along with seven assists and four rebounds. Williams took over for the Anteaters late in the game, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter while getting to the line six times.
The Titans look to bounce back Saturday as the team heads south to face UC San Diego at 4:00 p.m. PT.
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home basketball game exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Gym which will also lead into baseball and softball games. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the basketball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonWBB) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonWBB).
