FULLERTON, Calif. - Once again it came down to the final second in the Cal State Fullerton Titans women's basketball rematch against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Once again
Cristina Jones came up immense for the Titans as she scored with 0.2 seconds left on a layup to give the Titans a 62-60 win over the Gauchos.Â
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The Gauchos had 0.2 seconds to rebuttle and on the inbounds pass they did catch and tip a shot into the basket. However, the referees ruled that they didn't get the shot off in time since they weren't allowed to catch the ball and had to tip it in immediately and blew the final whistle to give the Titans the sweep over the Gauchos.
In a reverse of the previous New Years Day matchup in the fourth quarter. Â The Gauchos led for nearly the entire game and it was the Titans who had to chase down the Gauchos late in the fourth quarter. Â The Titans took a 59-57 lead with 1:32 left as
Kya Pearson drove to the basket and completed a 3-point play.
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After leading 60-57 after the Pearson continuation, the Gauchos scored one point after Julia Puente-Valverde went 1-for-2 from the free throw line to make it 60-58.  The Titans failed to score on their next possession and UCSB tied the game at 60-60 on a Zoe Borter basket.  In the Titans final possession,
Kya Pearson missed a shot with seconds left but
Cristina Jones was able to get the offensive rebound setting up the Titans final play out of a timeout. Â
The Titans improved to fourth place in the standings with an 8-3 record in conference play and 12-9 record overall.  It's a log jam near the top of the board with UC San Diego with 10 wins, UC Davis with 9 wins, and the UCI Anteaters with 8 wins and 2 losses with a game in hand over the Titans.
The Titans won despite shooting 36.9 from the floor (24-for-65) and the Gauchos shooting 44%.  The Gauchos outrebounded the Titans 39-to-33.  The Titans only forced 20 turnovers for  the game and their second lowest amount of steals in a game with 8. The Titans had three in double-figures with
Kya Pearson scoring a career high with the Titans, 19 points. Â
Cristina Jones had 13 points and 9 rebounds and
Maddy Tauro had 14 points.
Both sides traded baskets early to start the game with the Gauchos trying to find separation from the Titans. Â They went up 20-15 towards the end of the quarter but a
Jana Falsdottir three-pointer with four seconds left make it a two point game at 20-18 after one.
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The Titans took a 28-26 lead midway through the second quarter before going cold the final four and half minutes.
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The Gauchos scored the final nine points of the quarter to take 35-28 lead into halftime.
The Gauchos stretched their lead up to 11 points early in the third quarter at 41-30. Â The Titans however began slowly chipping away as they outscored the Gauchos 17-to-12 in the quarter.
Cristina Jones and
Maddy Tauro scored 12 of the 17 points and led the Titans charge back into the game as they trailed by two points 47-to-45 heading into the final quarter.
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The Gauchos led for most of the fourth quarter and took an eight point lead early in the quarter at  53-45. Â
Kya Pearson hit a three pointer to cut the lead back down to five points.
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After a UCSB layup by Olivia Brqadley made it a 57-52 game with 3:10 left. Â The Titans went on a 8-0 scoring run to take a 60-57 lead to set up the final 90 second dramatics of the game.
The Titans are on the road for both games next week as they head to UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield. Â Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday at UC Riverside.
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