DENVER, Colo. - After trailing by 12 points at halftime, the Cal State Fullerton Titans women's basketball mounted a late comeback attempt in the second half that fell just short at the end in a 60-55 loss to the Denver Pioneers at Hamilton Gym on Sunday.
The Titans outscored their opponents 33-to-26 in the second half but it wasn't enough to overcome an early 12 point deficit at the half.  Neither side shot great with the Pioneers shooting 39.2% (20-for-51) over the Titans 31.7% (19-for-60).  However, the Pioneers made seven three pointers while the Titans shot 15.8% (3-for-19) from beyond the arc.  The Titans trademark defense forced 24 turnovers but the Titans only converted those to 16 points.  Meanwhile the Pioneers forced 20 turnovers and converted those to 20 points. Â
Cristina Jones led the Titans in scoring with 19 points and 6 boards. Â
The Titans started with a 4-2 lead in the first quarter after forcing some early turnovers against the Pioneers. Â However Denver went on a run to retake the lead before
Talia Maxwell got back-to-back buckets for the Titans. Â
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After six straight points from Maxwell in the first, Denver scored the final four points of the first quarter to take a 14-10 lead over the Titans.
The Titans were outscored 20-to-12 in the second quarter.  The Titans defense had no answer for Coryn Watts who scored 11 of her 23 points in the second quarter. Â
Dylan Swindle hit a three pointer to keep the lead within 10 points with 29 seconds left in the quarter before Watts hit a jumper for the Pioneers to give them a 34-22 lead into halftime.
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The third quarter started with a mess of fouls from both sides early to start the period. Â The Titans were in the double bonus 2 minutes and 37 seconds into the third quarter. However, they only took advantage going to the free throw line three times and went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the quarter.
Denver took their largest lead of the game early into the third quarter at 38-24. Â The Titans began making their comeback after
Cristina Jones made a layup and
Madelynn Muniz hit her first three pointer to bring the game within six points at 38-32.
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Cristina Jones made a layup at with 4:29 left to bring the Titans within 4 points at 38-34. Â However, the Pioneers stretched the lead back to nine points by the end of the third quarter and led 50-41 heading into the final frame.
The Titans had a strong start to the fourth quarter after going on a 11-4 scoring run to start the fourth quarter and bring the game within one possession at 54-51. Â
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The Titans turned the ball over twice before
Cristina Jones made it a one point game at 54-53 with 3:11 left.  However, when the Titans had a chance to take the lead they turned the ball over again. Denver stretched the lead to 58-53 with 1:23 left in the game.  Madelyn Muniz made a tough floater with :52 seconds left to keep it a three pointer game at 58-55. The Titans got a defensive stop but
Kya Pearson turned the ball over on a traveling violation to hand the ball back to the Pioneers. Â After fouling Tori Baker of the Pioneers with eight seconds left, she missed both free throws giving the Titans another chance to tie the game up. Â However, on the ensuing in bounds play, the Titans threw the ball away to Tori Baker. Â She made her free throws to give Denver a 60-55 lead with 6 seconds left and seal the Titans defeat.
The Titans will continue their road trip with two games in Northern California next weekend. Â They head to Sacramento Stte on Friday with tip-off at 6:30 PM>
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