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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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Charlie Blake Photography
58
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 7-9,2-5 Big West
64
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 5-10,2-5 Big West
Cal St. Fullerton CSF
7-9,2-5 Big West
58
Final
64
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
5-10,2-5 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 15 18 14 11 58
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 17 21 10 16 64

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Written by James Tsitakis-Cecil

Trio of Double-Digit Scorers Fuel Deserved Home Win

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team returned home for a two-game stint at the Icardo Center, where the Roadrunners first came up against the Cal State Fullerton Titans before also playing UC Santa Barbara for the second time in ten days. Bakersfield, on a five-game losing skid, hoped to take inspiration from prior, stellar individual performances from Grace Hunter (39 pts in last three games) and Kayla Morris (45 pts in last three) to try and get back on track against a good Fullerton squad. The `Runners would go on to post their second straight 60+ point effort and end the losing streak with an inspiring 64-58 win over the Titans.

Notables
  • Although CSUB struggled to keep one of the conference's top scorers off the board in Fujika Nimmo, three `Runners found their way onto the box score with double-digit efforts to combat Nimmo's 22-point game. Sophia Tougas was on her usual game posting 12 points, while Kayla Morris had her third double-digit game in four with 11 points.
  • Morgan Edwards contributed greatly off the bench, resetting her career high of 13 points, and Julia Riley also set a new career high with 9 points. Their production was a decent chunk of what would be a stellar bench performance today, with players from the sideline putting up 41 of CSUB's 64 points tonight.
  • With 15 total lead changes between the two opponents, the game was very close the entire way through the game. CSUB limited the turnovers to just 11, while also killing plenty of time cycling the ball and getting gritty in the paint to score at a greater efficiency (26 pts in paint).
  • With trouble finishing and creating a complete 40-minute effort, the `Runners fought hard to correct their mistakes after allowing Fullerton back into the game early in the second half. In particular, with a 10-2 run in the final four minutes of the contest, CSUB was able to control the ball while scoring at a good pace to hold Fullerton off at home.
Quotes from Head Coach Greg McCall
  • "Tonight was about us and what we were able to do on the offensive end, which is something we have been concentrating on a lot lately."
  • "I have to continue instilling confidence and trust in them, as a coach. With Julia Riley, she was so timid when she got here, and I would sub her for not being confident and shooting the basketball. These young ladies, like Morgan Edwards and Simone Johnson, I am going to continue building their confidence and having them shoot the ball."
Next on the Schedule First Half
  • CSUB got off to a good start, jumping ahead 6-2 within the first two minutes of the game, but Fullerton answered quickly, turning it around 10-6. An absolute fight ensued at that point, with both teams trading shots, turnovers, and leads galore.
  • One of the Big West's top scorers, Cal State Fullerton's Fujika Nimmo, had a big first half with 16 points on 6-of-8 shots, but that did not stop CSUB from turning on the jets. Bakersfield would end the half with one of their finest offensive efforts, scoring 38 points and taking the lead heading into the second half.
  • Sophia Tougas and Morgan Edwards were both on point with their shooting games tonight, as Tougas was 5-of-9 from the field for 12 points, including an impressive downtown bucket from NBA distance, while Edwards converted three of her own from beyond the three-point line.
  • It was a day for unlikely contributions as well, with Simone Johnson nabbing a stingy 6 rebounds while Nseije Ortiz led the game with 3 assists in just 7 minutes on the court.
Second Half
  • The Titans came out of the break playing hard, jumping back into the lead quickly 42-21 within less than a minute of the third quarter. However, that did not deter Bakersfield from continuing the put on the pressure, forcing Fullerton to commit fouls, and put the `Runners in the bonus early.
  • Bakersfield ended the third quarter wanting more. Although Bakersfield went back up 48-47 by the final buzzer of the period, the Titans had kept the `Runners to just 21.4% from the field.
  • There were two separate four-plus minute scoreless droughts between the two teams in the third and fourth quarters. After a massive offensive first half, both teams slowed down and played tougher defensive styles.
  • Bakersfield stood up to the challenge of the Titans' offense and kept scoring on pace with them to eventual close out the game and nab the 64-58 win.
~GoRunners.com~
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