FULLERTON, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton Titans women's basketball team lost their season opener on Tuesday against Pepperdine, 84-70 at home at Titan Gym.
The Titans were playing their first game under the helm of new head coach
John Bonner.
The new look Titans showcased the aggressive defensive style which led to lots of fast break opportunities, but the Titans were unable to convert on the majority of the 30 turnovers they forced and 20 steals they had collected. They only scored 24 points off turnovers. When the Waves broke the full court press, they shot an efficient 61.7% from the floor (29-for-47) and converted from deep 12 times shooting at a 48% clip (12-for-25). The Titans shot just 32.9% from the floor (24-for-73) and 30.8% from the beyond the arc (8-for-26).
In her first collegiate game,
Nicole Steiner picked up a double-double after leading the team with 17 points and hauling in 11 rebounds (8 offensive rebounds). Her freshman counterpart
Maxine Sutisna was second with 15 points on 50% shooting.
The Titans struggled from the start of the game after falling behind 9-3 early in the game. They shot just 21.1% (4-for-19) for the quarter.
Madelynn Muniz made her first trey of the season to cut the lead to three at 9-6. The Waves opened a 19-10 lead to end the first quarter.
The Titans started the second quarter strong, diminishing the lead to five points at 19-14 after forcing a lot of turnovers. However, Pepperdine got hot and separated from the Titans on a 14-0 run to take 33-14 lead.
Lilliana Peterson made her first basket for the Titans on a three-pointer to close out the half but the Waves converted on a 3-pointer of their own with five seconds left to take a 47-31 lead into halftime.
The Titans showcased their best basketball of the night in the third quarter and highlighted what their defense can do when it's firing on all cylinders. They outscored the Waves 28-to18 for the quarter.
After Pepperdine opened up a 17-point lead at 55-38 with 6:39 left in the quarter, the Titans went on a 21-10 over the final five minutes. After forcing turnover after turnover, the The Titans cut the lead to five points at 59-54 behind Petersen's second trey of the night.
The Waves sank a 3-pointer with ten seconds left to take a 65-56 lead. With two seconds left,
Maxine Sutisna shot from just inside the half court logo to make it a 6-point game after the third quarter.
With momentum on the Titans side heading into the fourth quarter. The Titans ran out of steam early in the quarter as Pepperdine went on a 17-6 run to start the quarter. With the score 82-63 with 3:32 left in the game. The Titans defense was able to cause damage in the back court for a final time. They created endless opportunities but only added seven points over the final three minutes.
The Titans will take on Cleveland State next Sunday. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
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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.
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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.
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