FULLERTON, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton Titans women's basketball lost to UC Riverside 65-59 at home at Titan Gym on Saturday afternoon.
The Titans fell to 0-9 (0-2 BWC) while the Highlanders moved to 5-5 (2-0 BWC) for the season.
It was an even game from both sides for almost the entire game but what ultimately doomed the Titans was the conference leading Highlanders defense that had 12 steals and forced 18 turnovers which led to 24 points for UCR. The Titans and Highlanders both shot 39% from the floor, the Titan shot 77.3% (17-22) at the free throw line while the Highlanders shot 60.9% (14-23) from the free throw line. UCR outrebounded the Titans 39-to-35. Â
The Titans had three scorers in double digits as
Aixchel Hernandez scored a season high 16 points and had a career high five blocks. Â
Aaliyah Stanton had 15 points and
Demonnie Lagway had 14 points.  Shelley Duchemin led the Highlanders with 18 points.
The Titans led early to start the game behind a 3-pointer from
Aaliyah Stanton and a basket from
Emily Strachan.Â
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Both sides continued to trade baskets for the rest of the quarter with the Highlanders leading 17-15 after the first quarter.
The Highlanders pulled ahead by as much as seven points in the second quarter but the Titans kept themselves within striking distance scoring the final four points of the period to make it just a 3-point lead for the Highlanders at halftime at 30-27.
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The third quarter on Thursday again the Beach was where the game got away from the Titans and it looked to start that way with UCR gaining an 8-point advantage over the Titans to start the quarter.  However, the Titans refused to let the game go away from them with the trident attack from Hernandez, Stanton, and Lagway. Â
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The Titans pulled to within one point twice in the quarter with Hernandez and Lagway making baskets.  However, each time the Titans got close and held UCR on defense, the Titans couldn't find the basket to give them the lead. The Highlanders led 46-43 after the third quarter.
The Titans started the fourth quarter by getting the game back to one point before the Highlanders re stretched the lead to 8 points at 55-47. Â The Titans went on a 8-2 run to make it a 57-55 game behind layups from
Jana Falsdottir and
Emily Strachan.
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With three minutes left in the game, the Titans couldn't make the big shot to bring the Titans equal to the Highlanders and eventually fell by six points against the Highlanders.
The Titans who have been on the road for seven of their first nine games will be at home for their next three games. The Titans will go back to out of conference play next week when they host San Diego State on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6:00 PM at Titan Gym against the Aztecs.
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitanstickets.com. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu.
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home event exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Stadium. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.Â
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Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the men's basketball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonWBB) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonWBB)
