Feb. 11, 2012
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA - Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds while Jonae Ervin added 10 points and eight assists Saturday evening, lifting the host Mustangs to a 66-48 victory over Cal State Fullerton at Mott Gym in San Luis Obispo.
The loss was the fourth-straight for the Titans, who fell to 9-15 overall and 2-10 in Big West Conference play. Cal Poly improved to 11-12 overall and 7-3 in league action, winning its fifth-straight in the series with Fullerton.
Junior Lauren Bushong came off the bench to score a career-high tying 12 points to go with eight rebounds while sophomore Alex Thomas added 11 points in the loss. No Fullerton starter was in double figures as sophomore Mya Olivier led that group with eight points and six boards while leading scorer Megan Richardson was limited to just two points from the free throw line on the night.
The Mustangs shot 45 percent from the floor, including a 57 percent clip in the second half, using an 11-0 first-half burst to erase a five-point deficit to take a 17-11 lead with just over seven minutes to play in the period and eventually led by nine points, 29-20, at the break.
A 15-3 run over a five-minute span early in the second half put Cal Poly up by 20 points at 48-28 with 12:53 to play and the Mustangs led by as many as 22 points on two occassions midway through the period and cruised from there. Fullerton responded with a 14-4 run in the closing minutes of the game, pulling to within 12 points at 60-48 with just over two minutes remaining, but three-pointers by Kayla Griffin and Ashlee Burns snuffed out the Titans rally as the Mustangs settled for the 18-point win.
Fullerton shot 41 percent in the second half, but could not overcome a 26 percent clip in the opening period en route to shooting just under 33 percent for the game. Cal Poly outrebounded the Titans, 40-36, and held Fullerton to just 1-of-10 from three-point range for the game.
Cal State Fullerton begins its final homestand of the season with a single non-conference game against CSU Bakersfield on Thursday (Feb. 16) at 7 p.m.