BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? The CSUB women's basketball team wasn't sharp from the outset, and opportunistic Cal State Fullerton roared back from a double?digit deficit in the second half to earn a heart?stopping 77?75 victory Saturday night at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield.

Junior guard Kelley Tarver (Valencia HS) led all scorers with 24 points, but couldn't get a tough turn?around jumper to fall in the final second, allowing Fullerton to escape with the victory.

Toni Thomas scored 21 points, including the game?winning lineup on a nice pick and roll play with Lauren Chow with nine seconds remaining. Her effort helped the Titans (5?13) win their third consecutive game.

The Roadrunners appeared ready to run away with this game early. Although normally one of the nation's better three?point shooting teams, they couldn't buy a basket from long range early, missing their first 10 attempts. It hardly mattered, however, as they built leads as big as 14 points thanks to strong interior shooting and a 26-of-28 performance at the free throw line.

Fullerton, normally a poor outside shooting team, did its best CSUB impression, knocking down 7-of-19 from beyond the arc, including 6-of-11 in the second half. Lyndsey Grove, just 3-of-21 from long range entering the game, went 3-of-5 as part of her career?high 16 point performance.

Trailing 44?30 early in the second half, Fullerton began to chip away at the Roadrunner lead. They eventually caught the 'Runners at 50?50 on a Grove trey with 11:49 to play. That's when thing turned south for CSUB.

The Titans eventually built three separate six?point leads, the last at 71?65 with 3:23 left, before the 'Runners mounted a comeback. A short jumper by Christine Kepenekian followed by consecutive three?pointers from Krista Arase and Kepenekian, helped CSUB tie the game at 73?73. Thomas made a pair of free throws to briefly give Fullerton a 75?73 edge before Arase knifed through the lane for a layup to tie the game at 75?75 with 36 seconds remaining.

After Chow and Thomas hooked up for what proved to be the game?winner, Tarver was called for charge after minimal contact with 3.3 second remaining. But the CSUB defense forced a five?second call on the ensuing inbounds play to set up Tarver's final attempt.

CSUB will take two weeks off before returning to action Feb. 9 when it hosts defending Big West Conference champion UC Riverside.

CAL STATE FULLERTON (5-13 overall) -- Thomas 7-11 6-9 21; Grove 4-7 5-6 16; Weathersby 6-10 1-2 13; Scott 3-11 2-2 10; Richie 3-8 0-0 6; Bennett2-8 2-2 6; Chow 1-7 0-0 3; Breite 1-1 0-0 2; Woloshuk 0-0 0-0 0; Fontenot 0-0 0-0 0; Peters 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 16-21 77.

CSU BAKERSFIELD (9-11 overall) -- Tarver 9-21 6-6 24; Kepenekian 4-8 5-6 14; Belt 2-9 4-4 9; West 3-3 2-2 8; Arase 3-7 0-0 7; Johnson 0-4 6-6 6; Leon 1-1 2-2 4; Stribling 1-2 1-2 3; Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 26-28 75.

Halftime: 3-point goals--CSUF 7-19 (Grove 3-5; Scot 2-5; Chow 1-3; Thomas 1-4; Peters 0-1; Richie 0-1), CSUB 3-14 (Arase 1-3; Belt 1-3; Kepenekian 1-4; Tarver 0-4). Fouled out--CSUF-Breite, CSUB-Johnson. Rebounds--CSUF 37 (Thomas 9), CSUB 34 (Kepenekian 7). Assists--CSUF 16 (Weathersby 6), CSUB 5 (Arase 2; Tarver 2). Total fouls--CSUF 22, CSUB 20. Technical fouls--CSUF-None, CSUB-Johnson, Coach La Kose. A-444.