Feb. 15, 2012
FULLERTON, CA -
THIS WEEK...
Cal State Fullerton at CSU Bakersfield
Feb. 16, 2012 | 7 p.m.
Fullerton, Calif. | Titan Gym (4,000)
Game Coverage: Gametracker | Live Audio | Live Video
TIP-OFF: Still looking for its first win in the month of February, the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team (9-15 overall, 2-10 in the Big West Conference) hopes the friendly confines of Titan Gym are the cure for what ails them. The Titans have only one game this week, hosting CSU Bakersfield in the final non-conference match-up of the season on Thursday (Feb. 16) at 7 p.m.
CAN'T MAKE THE GAME?: Live stats as well as live video and audio for Thursday night's contest will be available. Live stat links will be available on the women's basketball schedule page at FullertonTitans.com. Links to live audio and video can be found by clicking on the icons in the upper right-hand corner of the main page at FullertonTitans.com.
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS: CSU Bakersfield enters Thursday's contest with a 4-21 overall record, having lost its last three straight since a 72-66 win over UC Riverside on Jan. 18 that followed a 67-58 loss to Fullerton at the Icardo Center... the Roadrunners are 2-6 against the Big West Conference with wins over UC Irvine (104-92 on Nov. 16) and the Highlanders last week... Thursday's game with Cal State Fullerton will mark Bakersfield's sixth-straight contest against a Big West school... Kristine Herman leads a trio of Roadrunners in double figures, averaging 14.0 ppg to go with 5.0 rpg and .385 shooting from the field... Amber Williams (12.9 ppg) and Lauren Carter (12.8 ppg) are also in double figures... Greg McCall is in his first season as head coach.
SERIES RECORDS: Cal State Fullerton drew even with Bakersfield in the all-time series between the two programs with its nine-point win on the road on Jan. 14, giving each school three wins apiece... the Titans will be looking for their first win at home against the Roadrunners in the history of the series as both teams have claimed all of their respective victories in the series on their other's home floor... Bakersfield won the last meeting between the two at Titan Gym, 71-66, on Jan. 26, 2011.
BUSHONG GOES BIG IN SAN LUIS OBISPO: Junior Lauren Bushong did her best to provide the Titans an offensive spark off the bench at Cal Poly last weekend, putting up a career high-tying 12 points to go with eight boards on 5-of-7 from the floor. It marked only the second time that Bushong has reached double-digits this season (10 points at San Jose State on Dec. 22) and the performance came almost one year to the day when she set her career best at Cal State Northridge on Feb. 12, 2011.
BENCH WARM: Bushong's 12 points (along with 11 more from sophomore Alex Thomas and seven from senior Lauren Chow) was a big part of the Titans' bench production against the Mustangs as the reserved produced 30 of the team's 48 points - the second-highest offensive output from the bench this season (35 points in a win over LMU on Nov. 21).
THIS IS RARE: Senior Megan Richardson has been a focal point of opposing defenses all season, but perhaps not more so that last weekend when UC Santa Barbara held her to just eight points and Cal Poly allowed her just two points from the free throw line. It was the first time since the end of the 2010-11 regular season that Richardson has been held to single-digits in back-to-back games and only the fifth time it has happened since her sophomore year.
I THOUGHT THESE WERE FREE: Fullerton has been hard-pressed to get to the free throw line in its last five games, trying to make the most of its 55 combined attempts in that stretch (shooting .691 from the line) while its opponents have been to the line nearly twice as often (88 FTA) and are shooting .745 from the stripe. Adding to their troubles, the Titans have attempted 15 free throws or fewer in seven of their last 11 games.
A'S FOR CHOW: With 393 assists to her name in her Cal State Fullerton career, redshirt senior Lauren Chow needs just 18 more helpers to jump past Shayla Bradshaw (1992-96) and move into third place on the school's all-time list. With seven 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 18 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.