Feb. 8, 2012
FULLERTON, CA -
Complete Weekly Release - at UCSB & Cal Poly
THIS WEEK...
Cal State Fullerton at UC Santa Barbara
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012 | 7 p.m.
The Thunderdome (6,000)
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Cal State Fullerton at Cal Poly
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 | 4 p.m.
Mott Gym (3,032)
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
TIP-OFF: Having struggled since the calendar turned over to the new year, the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team (9-13 overall, 2-8 in the Big West Conference) heads to the Central Coast in hopes of reversing a skid that has seen the Titans go just 2-7 since Jan. 1. Fullerton takes on UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night (Feb. 9) at 7 p.m. before taking on Cal Poly on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 4 p.m. in San Luis Obispo.
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.
UC SANTA BARBARA BRIEFLY: The Gauchos stand at 8-13 overall and 3-6 in Big West Conference play entering Thursday's clash with the Titans... UCSB has lost four straight (and five of the last six) since a four-point overtime win at Cal State Northridge on Jan. 21, including a loss to rival Cal Poly last week... Nicole Nesbit has come off the bench in 18 of the team's 21 games thus far this season and leads the team at 9.6 ppg while Emilie Johnson is second at 8.5 ppg and a team-high 54 assists... Kirsten Tilleman leads the way on the glass with 8.1 rpg and is shooting .436 from the field for the year... the Gauchos, as a team, are averaging 41.0 ppg and 35.8 rpg while shooting .370 from the floor while opponents are averaging 51.5 ppg and 35.3 rpg and shooting .366 from the field entering the week.
CAL POLY BRIEFLY: The Mustangs enter the week with a 9-12 overall record and a 6-3 mark in the Big West Conference for a second-place tie... Cal Poly has won three straight following a three-game losing skid, takings wins against Pacific and UC Davis at home before completing a sweep of the season series with Central Coast rival UC Santa Barbara on the road last week... at 22.9 ppg, Kristina Santiago leads the team and Big West in scoring to go along with 9.8 rpg and a .553 field goal percentage... no other Mustang is in double figures as Ashlee Burns is second on the team in scoring at 9.3 ppg to help a balanced offensive attack... Cal Poly is averaging 72.0 ppg and 39.8 rpg while shooting a robust .421 from the field for the season while opponents are averaging 69.6 ppg and 38.9 rpg while shooting .413 from the floor.
SERIES NOTES: Cal State Fullerton trails in the all-time series with UC Santa Barbara, 45-22, having lost the last 38 consecutive meetings with the Gauchos dating back to 1995 (more on that later)... the Titans, who lost the first meeting with UCSB earlier this year by just two points at Titan Gym, are just 8-21 against the Gauchos on the road, having lost their last 20 trips to Santa Barbara dating to a 50-47 victory almost 21 years ago to the day on Feb. 12, 1991... Fullerton leads the series with Cal Poly, 25-19, but has lost the last four consecutive meetings with the Mustangs, including a seven-point loss earlier this season at Titan Gym... the Titans are just 7-13 against Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, having lost seven straight on the road since a 64-57 win on Jan. 27, 2005.
THERE'S THAT STREAK AGAIN: Cal State Fullerton's 38 consecutive losses to UC Santa Barbara is tied for the second-longest among conference foes in the nation (as of Feb. 6, 2012), matching Tennessee's 38 consecutive wins over Alabama in the SEC and trailing only Stanford's 53 consecutive wins over Washington State in the Pac-12 Conference. Streaks that have been snapped since Fullerton's last meeting with UCSB include Old Dominion's 51-game streak over William & Mary and a 42-game run over UNC Wilmington that ranked second and third on the list, respectively, and Tennesse's 40-game winning streak over South Carolina that had stood as the fourth-longest in the nation. The Titans have not defeated the Gauchos since a 97-86 triumph on March 8, 1995, in the Big West Conference Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas, but have closed the gap in recent seasons as the last two losses have been by a combined five points and seven of the last 10 meetings have come by nine points or fewer.
DIV. I ACTIVE WINNING STREAKS, CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
1. Stanford vs. Washington State (Pacific 12) - 53 games
t2. Tennessee vs. Alabama (SEC) - 38
t2. UC Santa Barbara vs. Cal State Fullerton (Big West) - 38
t4. Liberty vs. Coastal Carolina (Big South) - 37
t4. Duke vs. Wake Forest (ACC) - 37
6. Duke vs. Georgia Tech (ACC) - 34
7. Washington vs. Washington State (Pacific 12) - 33
8. Tennessee vs. Mississippi State (SEC) - 32
"THIS" MUCH: The Titans' Big West Conference record may say 2-8, but that has not been indicitive of how tough Cal State Fullerton has battled in the league this season. All eight of the Titans' Big West losses this season have been by seven points or fewer and a combined 36 points (4.5 ppg).
THE BUTLER DID IT: Cal State Fullerton freshman Tailer Butler had herself quite a week against the Big West Conference's Northern California contingent, averaging 10.5 points and shooting just over 41 percent from the field against UC Davis and Pacific, including a career-high 14 points and seven boards against the Aggies. The 21 points in the two games last week were more than she scored in her previous nine games combined (20) and the 14 points against UC Davis marked only the second time she has finished in double figures this season, surpassing her previous high of 11 points scored against Cal Poly on Jan. 5.
KAT GETS OFFENSIVE: Aside from hitting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor against Pacific, three of freshman Kathleen Iwuoha's for rebounds on the night came on the offensive glass, extending her team-high total to 62 (out of 115 overall) on the season - a number that also ranks fourth overall among Big West Conference rebounders. Iwuoha ranks fifth in the league with 2.82 offensive rebounds per game and tied for 12th in the league at 5.2 rpg overall, helping the Titans dominate their opponents on the offensive glass with a league-best 348 offensive rebounds to just 271 for the opposition.
A'S FOR CHOW: With 391 assists to her name in her Cal State Fullerton career, redshirt senior Lauren Chow needs just 20 more helpers to jump past Shayla Bradshaw (1992-96) and move into third place on the school's all-time list. With nine more assists, Chow will become only the fourth player in school history to accumulate 400 career assists, joining Bradshaw (410 assists), Meg Gallagher (454 assists from 1981-85), and career leader Andrea Thieme (462 assists from 1995-99).
"400" IS THE NEW "300": After becoming only the fourth player in school history to reach 300 points in all four of their collegiate seasons as a Titan, senior Megan Richardson is setting her sights on an even loftier goal, needing just 28 more points to join Shayla Bradshaw (1992-96) and All-American's Genia Miller (1987-91) and Nancy Ratliff (1980-83) as the only Fullerton players to reach 400 points in three-straight years.
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 108 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 112 possible contests overall dating to the 2008-09 campaign, starting a total of 107 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 83 of her 114 career games (73 percent), including 28 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).
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 221 career three-pointers made, Chow needs just four 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.
\#WINNING: Fullerton's 21-point win over Long Beach State on Jan. 28 gave the Titans nine wins on the year -- matching their entire total from all of last season when they finished 9-21 overall. With one more win, Fullerton would finish with double-digit victories for the second time in three seasons under Head Coach Marcia Foster and its sixth such season in the last seven years.
I THOUGHT THESE WERE FREE: Fullerton has been hard-pressed to get to the free throw line in its last three games, trying to make the most of its 35 combined attempts in that stretch while its opponents have been to the line nearly twice as often (64 FTA). The Titans have attempted 15 free throws or fewer in six of their last nine games.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO INSIDE, BUT YOU CAN'T SHOOT HERE: Despite ranking fifth in three-point field goal defense (.303), Cal State Fullerton has allowed the second-fewest three-pointers in the conference this season (84) and has not allowed more than six makes from three-point range in a game this season, holding opponents to under 35 percent from beyond the arc in six of its last 10 contests.