Feb. 10, 2010

FULLERTON, CA -

TIP OFF: After splitting last week's Big West Conference contests, the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team (10-13 overall, 5-5 in the Big West Conference) will look to capitalize on a winning home mark and avenge a pair of league losses from earlier this season. The Titans host UC Irvine in a rare Wednesday night (Feb. 10) battle at 7 p.m. before welcoming Cal State Northridge on Saturday (Feb. 13) at 5 p.m.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? GOOD!: Both of this week's contests will be broadcast live over the Internet at FullertonTitans.com. Veteran Titan broadcaster Patrick Alog will have the play-by-play live from Titan Gym. To access the links, click on the headphones icon in the upper right-hand corner of the all-new FullertonTitans.com.

I SEE YOU: For the fourth consecutive season, video for all of Cal State Fullerton's home regular season contests and selected road games will be streamed live over the Internet (on a subscription basis) courtesy the Big West TV platform. For a monthy 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 log on to BigWestTV.org.

I NEED STATS, STAT!: For the first time this season, Cal State Fullerton men's and women's basketball will feature live stats via CBS College Sports' Gametracker for all of the Titans' home games and select road contests. Links will be available on both the men's and women's basketball schedule pages at FullertonTitans.com.

SERIES RECORDS: The series between the Titans and Anteaters is tied at 29-29 following UC Irvine's 73-65 victory at the Bren Center back on Jan. 30... Working in Fullerton's favor is that 15 of its 29 wins in the series have come at Titan Gym - where the Titans have won four straight over the Anteaters... Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series with Cal State Northridge, 31-8, but the Titans have lost their last three straight to the Matadors following a 66-53 defeat at The Matadome on Jan. 16... Fullerton is 13-3 all-time against Northridge at home (with the location of one game unknown).

SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS: UC Irvine enters the week with an 8-15 overall record and a 5-5 mark in Big West Conference play, locked in a three-way tie for fifth place in the standings with the Titans and UC Santa Barbara... The Anteaters had won two straight until falling to Cal State Bakersfield, 78-72 in overtime, in their only game last week... Mikah Maly-Karros leads the team offensively, averaging 18.9 ppg and 12.0 rpg while shooting .426 from the field and blocking 19 shots... Jade Smith-Williams (12.7 ppg) and Rebecca Maessen (10.7 ppg) are also in double figures... UCI is averaging 61.5 ppg and is shooting .372 from the floor while allowing opponents to average 68.4 ppg and shoot .421 from the field.

SCOUTING THE MATADORS: Cal State Northridge enters the week with a 3-17 overall record and a 1-9 mark in conference play to stand tied for eighth in the league... The Matadors, whose only league win came against Cal State Fullerton earlier this season, entertain Seattle University on Wednesday (Feb. 10) before travelling to Orange County... After defeating the Titans, the Matadors have lost their last five straight to the top-half of the conference by an average of 16.8 ppg... Bridgette Conejo leads the team offensively, averaging 12.7 ppg and shooting .436 from the field while averaging 5.4 rpg... Jasmine Erving is also in double figures, averaging 12.5 ppg and 5.1 rpg while shooting .434 from the floor... Northridge is averaging 59.2 ppg as a team and is shooting .379 from the field while allowing opponents to score 72.6 ppg and shoot .408 from the floor for the season.

"...MESSED AROUND AND GOT A TRIPLE-DOUBLE": Senior Jasmine Scott joined a select group in Cal State Fullerton history last week against Long Beach State, posting only the fourth triple-double in school history with 11 points and setting career-high's with 16 rebounds and 11 assists. She became the first Titan to accomplish the feat since Audrey Taylor did it against Cal State Northridge in 2004, scoring 10 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out a school-record 15 assists. Eugenia Miller-Rycraw (29 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 blocks against Fresno State in 1991) and Marissal Frial (10 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists against Nevada in 1995) are the only other Titans to record a triple-double since 1980-81 when complete box scores are available.

BEACH SWEEP: With their victory over Long Beach State on Feb. 4, Cal State Fullerton posted a rare regular season sweep of the 49ers, accomplishing the feat for only the second time since the 1985-86 season when both were members of the PCAA/Big West Conference. The last came in the 1997-98 season campaign when the Titans posted a 61-59 win at home and a 96-87 victory in Long Beach. Before 1998, Fullerton hadn't accomplished the feat since the Titans won 15-in-a-row in the series from 1970-76.

TITANS MATCH 2008-09 WIN MARKS: Fullerton's win over Long Beach State gave the Titans 10 victories overall and five league triumphs this season - matching the team's totals from all of last season when it finished 10-20 overall and 5-11 in Big West play.

NOT BAD... FOR A ROOKIE: The 10 victories for head coach Marcia Foster are the most for a first-year Fullerton head coach since Denise Curry finished 10-17 in her rookie season in 1997-98. With a win this week, Foster would have the most wins for a first-year head coach since Dr. Maryalyce Jeremiah debuted with an 11-18 mark in her first season in 1985-86.

HOME, SWEET HOME FOR ROAD WEARY TITANS: Judging by the records, the Titans must be real excited that their two games this week will be played in front of the hometown faithful as Fullerton looks to build on its 4-1 record in conference games at home while putting behind them a 1-4 mark in Big West play away from Titan Gym. Cal State Fullerton has benefitted greatly from its home court advantage, averaging 72.6 ppg and outscoring the opposition by almost 11 points per contest (10.8 ppg) and shooting just over 42 percent from the floor. Conversely, away from home where Fullerton has lost four straight league games, the Titans are averaging just 61.8 ppg (a difference of 10.8 ppg) while being outscored by nearly four points per contest (3.8 ppg). Opponents are shooting .423 from the floor while holding Fullerton to just 34 percent.

HEART BREAKERS: Cal State Fullerton's two-point loss at the buzzer last Saturday at UC Riverside marked its fifth loss of three points or less and its eighth single-digit defeat in 13 losses this season. Seven of the Titans' last eight losses have been by single digits (two of those decided in overtime), including a pair of two-point losses and a one-point defeat.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A POINT MAKES: Cal State Fullerton reached the 70-point mark for the 10th time this season in its win over Long Beach State - the most since the Titans had 12 such contests in 2006-07 en route to a 16-16 overall record - the most wins in a season since they finished 25-8 in 1990-91. It has been a magic number once again for Fullerton this season, which is 7-3 this season when scoring at least 70 points compared to just 3-9 when scoring 69 points or fewer.

FIREWORKS EXPECTED: Cal State Fullerton's second-ranked offense (68.0 ppg) could be in store for a big night on Saturday against Cal State Northridge as the Matadors enter the week allowing a league-worst 72.6 ppg this season. Extra motivation may be drawn from the first meeting between the two teams back on Jan. 16 in Northridge when the Titans were held to just 53 points for the game and four field goals in the second half (.105) after shooting 41 percent in the opening period en route to an 11-point halftime lead.

HELP ME, HELP YOU: Jasmine Scott's career-high 11 assists during her run to a triple-double against Long Beach State were the most by a Big West Conference player this season and the most for a Titan since India McDaniel had the same number against Colorado on Dec. 7, 2006.

GIVING TO CHARITY: Warm up your free throws for Wednesday night as Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine take to the court after an epic free-throw shooting exhibition in the first meeting between the two schools on Jan. 30. In that contest, the Titans and Anteaters were whistled for a combined 59 fouls (32 of those against Fullerton) in an eight-point UCI victory - the most against the team since the Titans were called for 35 fouls in an overtime loss to UC Riverside on Jan. 29, 2001. The Anteaters finished 35-for-45 (.778) in the first meeting while Fullerton was 24-for-30 (.800) from the stripe. Working in the Titans' favor this week is the fact that they rank No. 19 in the NCAA in free throw percentage entering the week (.752) while UC Irvine ranks No. 326 (out of 332) in personal fouls at 22.0 per game.

GREAT SCOTT!!!: Scott's triple-double has only been a small part of the past two weeks for the Titans as the senior has stepped up her game to help lead the offense. Over the last four contests, Scott is averaging a double-double, scoring 14.3 ppg and grabbing 10.0 rpg while shooting .417 from the field, .429 from three-point range, and hitting 14-of-18 from the line. The run includes a career-high 26 points against Seattle University and career-bests of 16 rebounds and 11 assists as part of her triple-double against Long Beach State.

DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE: And we mean that in a good way. The Fullerton offense, which averaged 62.5 ppg last season (third-best in the league), has kept the momentum going in 2009-10, entering the week ranked second in the league in scoring offense at 68.0 ppg (No. 88 in the NCAA) bouyed by 10 games of 70 points or more and a season-high 90 points in a win over Sacramento State on Nov. 15. Fullerton's 1,564 points thus far are second only to league-leading Cal Poly's 1,591 points this season.

GROVE LOOKING TO THE RECORD BOOKS: Junior Lyndsey Grove is experiencing a break-out year offensively and that is translating into some record book-like numbers. The Placentia native is shooting .403 (29-for-72) from three-point range, which would rank fourth in the single-season books, while her .861 (93-for-108) free throw percentage has her in first place - seven percentage points ahead of Toni Thomas' single-season record of .854 set in 2008-09.

OR YOUR POINTS ARE FREEEEE: The Titans, who led the Big West in free throw percentage a season ago, have continued to be one of the most accurate at the line this season, leading the league once again entering the weekend at .752 on the year - 25 points better than second-place UC Davis (.727). Junior Lyndsey Grove leads the conference and stands No. 28 in the NCAA at .861 (93-for-108) while sophomore Megan Richardson is ninth in the Big West at .782 (79-for-101). On a national level, the Titans stand No. 19 in the nation as a team in free throw percentage behind Drexel's nation-leading 80.9 percent.

IN THE LEAD: Should Cal State Fullerton keep up its prowess at the free throw line this season the Titans will lead the league from the stripe for the second straight year and the third time in the last four seasons. Fullerton shot .771 as a team in 2008-09 to lead the league and .724 from the line in 2006-07 to stand as the Big West's best. The Titans have led the league in free throw percentage only two other times since 1983-84, shooting .725 in 1990-91 and .714 in 1994-95.

NOT IN A GIVING MOOD: Fullerton hasn't been one to just hand the ball over to its opponents this season, committing a Scrooge-esque 15.5 turnovers per game to rank No. 33 in the nation in that category and first in the Big West Conference. The 356 turnovers overall are the fewest in the league entering the week, Fullerton's +3.04 turnover margin (No. 45 in the NCAA) is second in the conference (UC Davis +4.50), and the Titans' 426 turnovers forced are fourth-best in the league.

GIMME A SECOND CHANCE: Fullerton's work on the offensive boards have done just that for its offense this season as the Titans rank atop the league entering the week with 348 offensive rebounds and leads the league averaging 15.13 offensive rebounds per game. Individually, juniors Jenna Breite (4th - 2.57 per game), freshman Mya Olivier (6th - 2.32) and Lyndsey Grove (8th - 2.00 per game) lead the way as Fullerton is the only school with three players listed among the league's top 10 on the offensive boards.

TAKING THEIR SWINGS: The Titans' have not been cheated out of their shot attempts this season, averaging a Big West-high 63.87 field goal attempts per game and standing out as the only school to average more than 60 attempts per game entering this week's contests. Fullerton has taken a season-low 42 shots twice this year against Wisconsin (Nov. 29) and Eastern Washington (Dec. 21) but has not taken fewer than 51 shots in the remaining 19 games - including a Big West-high 81 shots at Oregon on Nov. 27 and 80 attempts at Sacramento State on Nov. 15 while also taking 70 or more shots eight times.

TITANS OVERTIME NUGGETS: Cal State Fullerton has played a school record four overtime games this season (2-2 overall)... the Titans are 10-15 all-time when playing an extra period... the four overtime games in 2009-10 marks only the fourth time in the history of the program that the Titans have played multiple overtime games since the 1980-81 campaign: 1981-82 (wins over Cal Poly Pomona and Nebraska), 1996-97 (losses to San Diego and Long Beach State), and 2007-08 (losses to UC Santa Barbara and Pacific)... Fullerton's double-overtime contest against UC Santa Barbara is only the second such game in school history (vs. BYU in 1983-84)... the Titans played back-to-back overtime contests for only the second time in school history against UCSB and Seattle and the first since the 1996-97 campaign when Fullerton went seven days between extra-time losses to San Diego and Long Beach State on Jan. 3 and Jan. 10, respectively... the NCAA record for overtime games in a season is seven set by Wisconsin in 1999 (5-2 overall)... the NCAA record for consecutive overtime games in a season is four set by that same Wisconsin team (3-1 overall)... the NCAA record for points in one overtime period is 23 set by Bowling Green (vs. Buffalo) in 2009 (Fullerton had 20 vs. Seattle on Jan. 27)... the NCAA record for points by both teams in one overtime is 39 set by Bowling Green & Buffalo (Fullerton and Seattle had 34 on Jan. 27).