Feb. 9, 2006
RIVERSIDE, CA - Cal State Fullerton senior forward Amber Pruitt became the 15th player in the history of the program to surpass the 1,000-point barrier and the Titans won their third-straight game thanks to a 59-55 road win over host UC Riverside on Thursday evening at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside, Calif.
Fullerton, which won on the road for the first time this season (1-10), improved to 9-13 overall and moved two games above .500 in Big West Conference play at 6-4.
UCR fell to 7-14 overall and 3-7 in league play.
Pruitt, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, was one of three Titans in double figures and reached the 1,000-point plateau at the 12:15 mark of the first half from the free throw line. She finished with 11 points and now ranks No. 14 on the all-time scoring list with 1,010 points, passing Joey Ray (1988-92). Pruitt is now 68 points behind Terri Withers for 13th place.
Junior guard Andrea Adams led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting while junior Audrey Taylor scored 12 points in the win. Junior Charlee Underwood grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to lead all players in that category.
The Titans sank 10 free throws in the final 4:30 to make up for just one field goal in that span to hold off the Highlanders.
UCR led 50-49 with 2:44 remaining before Pruitt knocked down a pair of free throws to give Fullerton a lead it would not relinquish. Two more free throws by Andrea Adams pushed the Titans' advantage to three and they went up five with 1:03 left on a jumper by Pruitt.
A three-point play by UCR freshman guard Seyram Gbewonyo brought UCR back to 55-53 but the Titans' Taylor made it a four-point game with 28.9 remaining. Freshman forward Ronéy Friend's layup gave UCR a glimmer of hope but two more free throws from Adams and a missed layup by sophomore center Kemie Nkele squashed the Highlander rally.
Nkele led the Highlanders with 14 points and was joined in double figures by Gbewonyo (12 points) and Friend (10 points).
The Titans shot 54 percent from the field in the first half and finished shooting 42 percent from the floor for the game. Fullerton outrebounded Riverside, 35-24.
Cal State Fullerton returns to action next week as the Titans travel to Stockton, Calif., to take on Pacific on Thursday (Feb. 16) at 7 p.m. at the Spanos Center.
...some information courtesy UCR Athletic Media Relations.