Jan. 26, 2011
FULLERTON, CA - Tyonna Outland finished with a game-high 17 points off the bench and led two of her Cal State Bakersfield teammates in double figures on Wednesday night as the visiting Roadrunners held off a second half charge by Cal State Fullerton en route to a 71-66 non-conference women's basketball victory at Titan Gym.
Senior Lyndsey Grove finished with a team-high 15 points and narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds for the host Titans, who fell to 7-14 overall despite a second half that saw them shoot 44 percent from the floor and outscoring the visitors by five in the period while holding Bakersfield (14-10) to just 26 percent shooting.
Junior Megan Richardson finished with 15 points while sophomores Lauren Bushong and Simone Lutu tallied career nights on the boards, collecting 14 and 11 boards, respectively, leading the Titans to a 50-47 rebounding advantage - their second-highest total of the year (51 vs. Sacramento State on Dec. 9).
Bushong added eight points to fall just shy of her first career double-double while freshman Yvont'e Neal finished with 11 points.
Fullerton trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half and the Roadrunners enjoyed numerous trips to the line after seven quick fouls against the Titans put them in the bonus just four minutes into the period. Bakersfield's lead would remain double digits with six minutes gone in the second half before Fullerton slowly began to claw its way back into the contest.
Bushong scored inside to start a 13-3 run by the Titans, who closed to within 55-53 with just over seven minutes to play. After a pair of Roadrunner free throws, a three-pointer by Lauren Chow made it a one-point game at 57-56 two minutes later and it remained that way after Grove answered a basket by Cebrina Johnson to make it 59-58 at the 4:52 mark.
Cal State Bakersfield increased its lead back to five points on back-to-back baskets, but the Titans remained within striking distance as Grove scored again and Neal answered a three-pointer from Kristine Herman, who finished with 16 points, with one of her own to make it 66-63 with just over two minutes to play.
A pair of free throws from Jana Smith, who came off the bench with 16 points, upped the lead back to five, but another three-pointer by Chow off a Roadrunner turnover made it a two-point contest with 36 seconds to play. After 1-of-2 from the line by Amber Williams opened the door for Fullerton to tie, Chow's contested three-pointer was off-line and deflected out of bounds to the Roadrunners, who hit two from the line to ice the victory.
The Roadrunners hit 22-of-31 from the line overall for the game to just 6-for-8 from the stripe for the Titans.
The Titans, who shot 10-of-22 from three-point range for the game, struggled out of the gate, hitting only 28 percent from the floor and five of their 10 made field goals from behind the arc. In a period of runs, Bakersfield opened the game on a 7-0 run before Fullerton with five straight points. However, a 13-3 spurt by the Roadrunners gave them a 12-point lead as the Titans went without a point for 5:30 and hit just 3-of-15 from the field in the first 10:36 of the half.
Undaunted, Fullerton rebounded with a 10-1 run of its own to make it a three-point contest with just under five to play, but Bakersfield, which shot 41 percent in the opening period, closed out the half by scoring 16 of the final 25 points and held a 37-27 advantage at the break.
With the non-conference schedule finally completed, Fullerton now turns its focus to the second half of Big West Conference play, which tips-off on Saturday (Jan. 29) at 3 p.m. against Long Beach State at Titan Gym.
It will be the second meeting between the Titans and 49ers in the last 10 days after Fullerton handed Long Beach State a 77-65 defeat at the Walter Pyramid on Jan. 19.