Jan. 24, 2007
FULLERTON, CA - The Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team (9-11 overall, 4-3 in the Big West Conference) looks to continue its winning ways this weekend as the Titans take a break from conference play and head north to take on future Big West rival UC Davis on Saturday (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m.
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LISTEN LIVE
This weekend's contest can be heard live over the Internet by visiting UC Davis' athletic website at www.ucdavisaggies.com and clicking on the "Live Audio" link on the right-hand side of the page. Gametracker will also be available for the contest and the link is available on the women's basketball schedule page at FullertonTitans.com.
BIG WEST TV IS BACK!
Live streaming video for all Cal State Fullerton home games and select road contests will be available once again during the regular season through a partnership with the Big West Conference and CSTV. The subscription video service is \$79.95 for the entire season or \$9.95 per month. For more information, please visit the Big West website at www.bigwest.org/tv.
SERIES RECORDS
UC DAVIS: The series between future Big West Conference rivals Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis is tied at 2-2, with each team winning a game in the last two seasons... Last season, the Titans posted a 71-66 win in Davis, Calif., to end the regular season while the Aggies posted a 75-71 victory at Titan Gym... In 2004-05, Fullerton posted a six-point win at Titan Gym while UC Davis triumphed 70-55 at home.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
UC Davis is 8-11 overall this season, having split its last six games but defeating Pacific on the road, 75-61, in its last outing... The Aggies would stand in fifth place (one-half game behind the Titans) in the Big West thus far, having posted a 3-3 record against their future conference foes in 2006-07 with wins over UC Irvine, Cal Poly, and the Tigers... UC Davis is led by a trio of double-digit scorers, paced by senior Heather Bates, who is averaging 11.6 ppg and 6.7 rpg while shooting just over 41 percent from the field... Senior Laura Thomas is second on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg and sophomore Haylee Donaghe third at 11.1 ppg.
THOMAS WINS SECOND PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD
For the second time this season, Cal State Fullerton sophomore Toni Thomas was named the Big West Player of the Week after helping the Titans to a pair of wins over Long Beach State and UC Irvine. Thomas, the league's leading scorer, averaged 23.5 ppg - including a career-high 29 points against the Anteaters - and 8.0 rpg last week while shooting 55 percent from the field. She had previously won the award back on Dec. 11, 2006, after helping the Titans to wins over Colorado and Northern Colorado.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS?
For the second consecutive season, Cal State Fullerton has swept home games from traditional rivals Long Beach State and UC Irvine after going seven years without a win over either team at Titan Gym. Not to be caught looking ahead, but Fullerton has never swept the 49ers and Anteaters in their four regular season meetings, coming the closest in 1990-91 with a 3-1 record, losing at Long Beach State. The last time the Titans swept Long Beach State during the regular season was in 1997-98 while Fullerton last swept the season series from UCI in 1991-92.
IT'S A KIND OF MAGIC
That Titan Gym magic continues for Cal State Fullerton as the Titans improved to 7-3 at home with their wins over Long Beach State and UC Irvine last weekend. Fullerton, which has won 16 of its last 22 games at home over the last two seasons, is averaging just over 71 points per game and shooting just under 41 percent from the field at Titan Gym this season, outscoring the opposition by better than five points per contest. Compare that to the Titans' struggles away from home this season (2-8) where they have shot just 34 percent and are averaging just 55.6 ppg in 10 contests.
THOMAS STILL LEAGUE'S BEST
Sophomore Toni Thomas remains atop the Big West scoring race at 17.9 points per game entering Saturday's game - besting second-place Kemie Nkele of UC Riverside by 1.9 ppg. If the season were to end today, Thomas would be the first Titan to lead the league in scoring since Koko Lahanas accomplished the feat in 1994-95 after averaging a nation-high 26.8 ppg. Claudette Jackson (1992 - 20.3 ppg) and Genia Miller (1991 - 29.4 ppg) are the only other Titans to lead the Big West in scoring.
THOMAS KEEPS UP IMPRESSIVE PACE
Should sophomore Toni Thomas keep up her current scoring pace (17.9 ppg) over the Titans' 10 remaining games, she would be in line to become the first Titan player to score 500 points in a single season since Koko Lahanas led the nation in scoring with 778 points (26.8 ppg) in 1994-95. Thomas' current pace would put her at 537 points for the year - which would rank ninth on the single-season list.
CHECK THOSE SHOES FOR SPRINGS
Senior Charlee Underwood grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the Titans' win over UC Irvine on Jan. 20, coming close to matching the single-game school record of 23 shared by three former Titans that has stood since 1980. Underwood's 19 rebounds were the most in a game for a Fullerton player since Erin Whiteside grabbed 21 boards in a win over San Jose State on Jan. 2, 2000.
TITANS WITH THE HOT HAND
Fullerton shot .456 from the field in Saturday's victory over UC Irvine, snapping a string of five consecutive games in which the Titans shot lower than 36 percent.
FULLERTON GOES BACK-TO-BACK
The Titans won back-to-back games for only the second time this season and the first dating back to early December after they defeated Colorado and Northern Colorado on Dec. 7 and 9. With a win over UC Davis on Saturday, the Titans will win three straight for the first time since early February of last season when Cal State Fullerton coupled wins over Long Beach State and UC Irvine with a victory over UC Riverside.
THOMAS POURS IN CAREER BEST
After twice tying her career high with 27 points this season in back-to-back games against Colorado and Northern Colorado, sophomore Toni Thomas finally got over the hump against UC Irvine, scoring a career-high 29 points to help the Titans over the Anteaters. Thomas, who had 20 of those 29 in the first half, hit on 11-of-15 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line en route to a stellar night. It was the most points scored by a Titan in a single game since Amber Pruitt netted 29 points against Pacific on March 4, 2004.
BLOCKS A PLENTY
Senior Charlee Underwood notched her second three-block night on Saturday against UC Irvine, giving her a team-best 15 for the season and 41 for her career - a total that places her eighth all-time in school history. Underwood also had three blocks in a loss at Montana State on Nov. 24, 2006.
DYNAMIC DUO GOES NATIONAL
Both sophomore Toni Thomas and senior Charlee Underwood rank among the nation's top 100 players in various categories entering this week's play. Thomas is No. 46 in the country in scoring, No. 82 in rebounding and No. 86 in free throw percentage. Underwood is No. 76 in three-point percentage and No. 91 in three-pointers made per game (2.1). Thomas is the only Big West player in the top 100 in scoring and one of four in the top 100 in rebounding.
CRASH THE BOARDS
Cal State Fullerton outrebounded both of its opponents this past weekend, posting a 41-32 advantage over Long Beach State and tying a season-high by grabbing 48 boards in a win over UC Irvine. The two performances were only the fourth and fifth times this season the Titans have had the advantage in the rebound column - and the first since Dec. 28 vs. Cal Poly.
GETTING OFFENSIVE
Speaking of rebounds, the Titans went nuts on the offensive boards this weekend, grabbing 19 offensive boards versus both the 49ers and Anteaters to set and tie a season high. Those performances helped set the pace for the Fullerton offense which tallied 18 second chance points against Long Beach State and 16 more versus UC Irvine.
BIG WEST'S BEST 1-2 PUNCH
Cal State Fullerton's Toni Thomas (17.9 ppg) and Charlee Underwood (15.1 ppg) each rank among the league's top five scorers - making them the best 1-2 offensive punch in the Big West. The duo has combined to score 644 points (33.0 ppg) and has accounted for just under 51 percent of the team's points this season.
THOMAS UPS STREAK TO NINE
Sophomore Toni Thomas notched her nine consecutive double-digit scoring performance with her career-high 29-point, seven-rebound effort in the win over UC Irvine on Saturday night. Thomas, who has scored in double digits in every game but one this season, is averaging 18.7 ppg and 9.0 rpg over her last nine contests while shooting .446 (58-for-130) from the field.
UNDERWOOD'S MOVES TO SEVEN
Senior Charlee Underwood has a little scoring streak of her own, extending her's to seven-straight after her 14-point, 19-rebound performance against UC Irvine. She is averaging 16.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg in that span and has scored 15-or-more points four times.
GOING THE DISTANCE
Underwood played all 40 minutes in the Titans' victory over UC Irvine on Jan. 20, marking the third time this season the senior forward has not left the floor. She played 40 minutes in a win over Northern Colorado on Dec. 9, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds, and also went the distance in a loss at Pacific, scoring 18 points and grabbing four rebounds.
STILL NO. 1
Cal State Fullerton stumbled a bit at three free throw line this past week against Long Beach State and UC Irvine, hitting just 68 percent from the charity stripe combined in the two games. Those performances weren't enough, however, to knock the Titans out of the top spot in the Big West standings as their .735 remains the best in the league.
NOT NO. 1... BUT REALLY GOOD
Cal State Fullerton enters this week shooting a league-high .735 from the free throw line to rank No. 43 in the NCAA behind Northern Illinois' nation-leading .805 from the charity stripe.
THE THIRD WHEEL
In this case a good thing. The Titans had three players in double figures in their win over Long Beach State as Fullerton improved to 7-4 this year when it has three or more players score in double digits. Conversely, the Titans are just 2-5 this season when only two or fewer players reach 10 points, snapping a two-game losing streak with their win over UC Irvine on Saturday.
FRIAS SHINES IN FIRST START
Fullerton junior Dayana Frias made quite an impression in her first start of the season on Thursday against Long Beach State, hitting on 5-of-12 from the field and finishing with 12 points and four rebounds in the Titans' win over the 49ers. Frias, who scored a season-high 13 points against Colorado back on Dec. 7, had scored just 12 points total in her previous nine games before her outburst against Long Beach State.
TURNING MISCUES INTO POINTS
The Titans have been quite adept in forcing the opposition into turnovers, ranking second in the league behind UC Irvine (440) with 429 entering this week's contest. Fullerton made a living on converting miscues into points this past weekend, forcing 38 turnovers that led to 45 points for the Titans in their two victories.