Jan. 24, 2012
FULLERTON, CA -
Complete Weekly Release - Cal State Northridge/Long Beach State 
THIS WEEK...
Cal State Northridge at Cal State Fullerton
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 | 7 p.m.
Titan Gym (4,000)
Game Coverage: Gametracker | Live Audio | Live Video
Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 | 3 p.m.
Titan Gym (4,000)
Game Coverage: Gametracker | Live Audio | Live Video
TIP-OFF: The longest homestand of the 2011-12 season tips-off this week as the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team (8-10 overall, 1-5 in the Big West Conference) hosts two of the league's top four teams at Titan Gym to close out the first go-round in conference play. Falling short in each of their last four conference clashes, the Titans host first-place Cal State Northridge on Wednesday night (Jan. 25) at 7 p.m. before welcoming fourth-place Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28) at 3 p.m.
NEW LOOK BIG WEST: The Big West Conference Board of Directors announced on Dec. 12, 2011, that San Diego State will return as the conference's 11th member effective July 1, 2013. The Aztecs, whose women's teams were members of the league from 1985-90, were an original member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association from 1969-78, and will join Hawaii as the league's "newest" members. The Warriors, whose women's programs were part of the Big West from 1984-96, were introduced as the 10th member of the league on Dec. 10, 2010, and will officially compete as a member of the Big West in July of 2012.
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (CSUF.Athletics), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) and Vimeo.com (vimeo.com/fullertontitans). In addition, the women's basketball team has established its own official Facebook fan page, just search for Cal State Fullerton Women's Basketball.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? GOOD!: Thanks to a partnership with Arizona-based Stretch Internet, select Cal State Fullerton women's basketball contests will be broadcast live over the Internet at FullertonTitans.com. To access the links, click on the headphones icon in the upper right-hand corner of FullertonTitans.com.
I SEE YOU: For the sixth consecutive season, live streaming video for all of Cal State Fullerton's home regular season contests and selected road games will be available (on a subscription basis) live over the Internet courtesy the Big West TV platform. For a monthly subscription of \$9.95 or an annual subscription of \$79.95, fans can catch all the exclusive action from the comfort of their home computers. For more information, please visit www.BigWest.org/TV or access the video player at www.fansonly.com/schools/bigw/allaccess/index.html.
I NEED STATS, STAT!: For the third consecutive season, Cal State Fullerton men's and women's basketball will feature live stats via CBS College Sports' Gametracker interface for all of the Titans' home games as well as select road contests. Links will be available on both the men and women's basketball schedule pages at FullertonTitans.com.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE BRIEFLY: Currently tied atop the league standings with UC Irvine, the Matadors enter the week with a 10-9 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Big West Conference play... Cal State Northridge has won five of its last seven, splitting its two games last weekend against its Central Coast rivals after defeating Cal Poly, 79-77, and falling to UC Santa Barbara, 71-67 in double overtime... the Matadors are just 4-6 away from home, but have won two of their last three... Jasmine Erving leads the way offensively, averaging 13.9 ppg and 8.2 rpg while shooting .435 from the floor and blocking 31 shots... Janae Sharpe is also in double figures, averaging 11.1 ppg for the year... as a team, Northridge is averaging 66.5 ppg and shooting .375 from the field while opponents are averaging 65.5 ppg and shooting .372 from the floor.
LONG BEACH STATE BRIEFLY: The 49ers enter the week with a 9-11 overall mark and a 4-3 record in Big West play after sweeping UC Santa Barbara (46-34) and Cal Poly (74-67) last week at home to end a three-game losing skid... Long Beach State, which has won 8-of-10 at home, is just 1-9 this season away from the Walter Pyramid, including 0-2 in Big West play... Tipesa Moorer leads the way offensively for the 49ers, averaging 12.8 ppg and shooting .432 from the field while Alex Sanchez paces the team on the boards at 5.4 rpg while shooting .434 from the floor.
SERIES NOTES: Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series with Cal State Northridge by a 32-10 mark, but has lost five of the last six over the last three seasons with only a 75-67 win at home on Jan. 15, 2011, in that stretch to snap a four-game losing streak to the Matadors... the Titans are 14-4 all-time at home against CSUN, winning four of the last six... Fullerton is 13-7 against Northridge since the Matadors joined the Big West in 2001-02... Long Beach State leads the all-time series with the Titans, 59-32, but Fullerton has won the last five-straight (and nine of the last 12) in the series with the 49ers dating to 2009... the Titans are just 16-27 against the 49ers at home, but have won five of the last six meetings at Titan Gym... since the two became Big West Conference rivals, Long Beach State leads the series, 39-13, starting in 1985-86.
MISSING IT BY "THAT" MUCH: Heartbreaking is only one word that could describe Cal State Fullerton's recent run of bad luck as, since the start of Big West Conference play, all five of the Titans' losses have been by seven points or fewer and a combined 23 points (4.6 ppg) total over that span. In addition, nine of Fullerton's last 10 contests (a 5-5 record in those games) have been decided by single digits, save for a 16-point win at San Jose State.
RICHARDSON RECOVERS: Senior Megan Richardson recovered well after being held to single digits in the points column for only the third time this season, reaching the 20-point plateau for the seventh time this season with her game-high 26 points against UC Riverside, including scoring 14 straight points for her team at one point in the second half. The 26 points were the most since she went for a season-high 27 points at San Jose State on Dec. 22 in Northern California.
"300": A perfect score in bowling, and a milestone in scoring for Megan Richardson this season. On a three-pointer with 1:44 to play, Richardson scored her 301st point of the season, becoming only the fourth player in school history to reach 300 points in all four of her collegiate seasons as a Titan, joining Robin Holmes (1982-86), Shayla Bradshaw (1992-96), and Toni Thomas (2005-09). Looking ahead in our crystal ball, should Richardson score 99 more points this season, she would join Bradshaw and All-Americans Genia Miller (1987-91) and Nancy Ratliff (1980-83) as the only Fullerton players to reach 400 points in three-straight seasons.
CHOW HITS HER STRIDE: After reaching double figures just three times all season, senior Lauren Chow has shown signs of breaking out of her offensive slump, reaching double figures in points in each of her last three contests, averaging 11.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.67 assists per game while shooting .448 (13-for-29) from the floor and .412 (7-for-17) from beyond the arc. Her 15 points against Bakersfield on Jan. 14 tied a season high while her seven rebounds matched a career high.
CHOW DIALS LONG DISTANCE FOR MILESTONE: With her two trey's against UC Riverside on Jan. 21, senior sharpshooter Lauren Chow moved into seventh on the Big West Conference's all-time list for three-pointers made, jumping past UNLV's Gwynn Hobbs, who hit 212 career three-pointers from 1991-95. Now, with 213 career three-pointers made, Chow needs just three more made three's to pass UC Santa Barbara's Jess Hansen (1999-03) for sixth place and 12 more to jump past Pacific's Kelsey Lavender (2004-08) for the No. 5 spot. Earlier this season against Nevada on Dec. 10, Chow became only the eighth player in the history of the Big West Conference to reach 200 career three-pointers made.
I'M HERE TO HELP: Redshirt senior Lauren Chow inched her way up the school's career assist list last week, as her eight helpers against UC Irvine and UC Riverside upped her total to 375 career assists, good for No. 6 on the all-time list and just three helpers shy of Audrey Taylor, who holds down the No. 5 spot with 378 helpers from 2002-07.
CLEANING THE GLASS: Redshirt sophomore Mya Olivier and freshman Kathleen Iwuoha have been working hard down low for the Titans, averaging 9.7 and 8.7 rpg, respectively, over the team's last three contests, helping lift the duo into the top 15 in the Big West Conference entering this week. Olivier, who grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds at CSU Bakersfield, ranks third in the league at 8.2 rpg this season while Iwuoha, who set and tied her career best on the boards against Bakersfield and UC Riverside, ranks No. 12 this week at 5.5 rpg.
\#WINNING: Fullerton's eight wins this season are just one shy of last season's total when the Titans finished 9-21 overall. Not to jinx anything, but two more victories would give Fullerton double-digit wins for the second time in three seasons under Head Coach Marcia Foster and its sixth such season in the last seven years.
ROAD WARRIORS: Playing the hand they were dealt with 11 of their first 18 games this season on the road, the Titans have performed well, going 5-6 away from home thus far and bettering last season's mark when they finished just 3-14 in road contests. Fullerton's win at Bakersfield on Jan. 14 gave the Titans their most wins away from Titan Gym since 2009-10 (5-10) and a sixth road victory would be the most for a Fullerton squad since the 1990-91 NCAA Tournament-bound team finished 9-6 away from the friendly confines.
ALL GO, NO QUIT: Senior Megan Richardson made her 100th consecutive start with the Titans' opening tip against Cal Poly on Jan. 5 and has started 104 consecutive games dating back to her freshman season. The Manhattan Beach native has not missed a start since coming off the bench on Dec. 4, 2008, against No. 16 Vanderbilt and has not missed a single one of the program's 108 possible contests overall dating to the 2008-09 campaign, starting a total of 103 of those games.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DOMINATION: You know the old saying, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes?" We'd like to add a third -- Megan Richardson and double-digit points. The Titans spectacular scoring guard has reached double digits in points in 80 of her 110 career games (73 percent), including 26 career 20-point contests and a 33-point effort against Cal Poly on Jan. 13, 2011. She is one of only three active Fullerton players with at least 10 career double-digit games (Lauren Chow and Mya Olivier) and is one of three active Titans who have reached 20 points in their collegiate careers (Chow and Olivier).
IN-N-OUT WOULD BE PROUD: Olivier's four double-doubles this season are the most for a Titan since Jasmine Scott had four (including a triple-double) during the 2009-10 senior season.
THIS NOTE BROUGHT TO YOU BY WINDEX: Cal State Fullerton's 56 rebounds against Bakersfield tied a season-high for the Titans, matching their output in their season-opening win over Sacramento State on Nov. 11 while Fullerton's 27 offensive boards against the Roadrunners tied a season high set at Arizona State on Dec. 6. The 56 rebounds were the most since Fullerton grabbed 58 boards in a 90-68 win against the Hornets on Nov. 15, 2009, while the 27 offensive rebounds were the most since the Titans grabbed 28 against Arizona on Nov. 26, 1993.
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)... DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): Fullerton's defense has been up to the challenge thus far in 2011-12 after finishing at or near the bottom in numerous defensive categories a season ago. The Titans, who ranked 8th in scoring defense (71.7 ppg), 9th in field goal percentage defense (.432), and 8th in rebounding defense (41.8 rpg), last season while leading the league in three-point defense (.301), stand among the top four in the Big West entering the week in all four of those same categories. Fullerton has allowed the third-fewest points per game (62.7 ppg), stands fourth in field goal percentage defense (.392), and is first in three-point defense (.287) - leading Wednesday's opponent, Cal State Northridge - by percentage points, while standing third in rebounding defense (39.1 rpg).