FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton women's basketball fell to Long Beach State Tuesday night at Titan Gym by a final score of 53-63. The Titans are now 8-12 and 3-7 in Big West play.
The Titans fell behind early in the first quarter as Long Beach took a 9-2 lead. Carolyn Gill got the team back in the game with three consecutive buckets in the lane including an and-one. Gill led all scores with nine points in the first quarter.
Beat the zone, finish through contact! @_cgilly #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/9MY34stg2z
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) February 9, 2022
Fullerton hung around throughout the game but Long Beach State's pressure defense turned out to be the difference, forcing 24 turnovers by the Titans which led to 16 points on the other end.
The Titans came out on top in points off turnovers with 17 on 14 Long Beach turnovers, however, their 24 turnovers limited their opportunities on the offensive end.
Long Beach State came into the game 10th in the Big West in 3-point percentage at 27 percent and the Titans defense forced the Beach into deep shots to beat them. However, Long Beach came up with timely three's, shooting 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from behind the arc.
Lily Wahinekapu led the Titans offensively with 19 points on 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Wahinekapu added six rebounds, two assists and three steals. The freshman is averaging 14.8 points per game which ranks fourth in the Big West.
Wahinekapu from way downtown! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/lvG1f7Wrfx
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) February 9, 2022
Right place. Right time. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/R6zoqmUneh
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) February 9, 2022Wahinekapu ��#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/gVlZroM2SK
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) February 9, 2022
Gabi Vidmar was the only other Titan to score in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 from the field.
Defense to offense. @gabvidmar #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/C22VTK1rWV
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) February 9, 2022
.@gabvidmar got her with the pump fake and finished with the floater. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/nsiZiDUXH7
— Titans Women's Basketball (@FullertonWBB) February 9, 2022
Ashlee Lewis nearly recorded a double-double with nine points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting and 10 rebounds.
Jasmine Hardy led Long Beach State with a game-high 22 points while Maddi Utti added 10 points and eight rebounds. Long Beach got 20 points off its bench while the Titans had just four.
Fullerton looks to bounce back Thursday as Hawai'i comes to Titan Gym for a Big West showdown. Tip-off is set for 7:00 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).
