FULLERTON, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton Titans women's basketball team overcame a 16-point deficit to send the game to overtime at the end of regulation before running out of gas at the end in a 81-69 loss at Titan Gym on Thursday night.
The Titans trailed by 16 points (64-48) with 8:38 left in regulation in the fourth quarter. The Titans went on a 18-2 run the rest of the fourth quarter.Â
Maddy Tauro made two free throws with the Titans down by two points with 10 seconds left on the clock. Tauro blocked a 3-point attempt on the Tritons final shot of regulation to send the game to overtime with the score tied 66-66.
After the heroic effort to get the game to overtime, the Titans were out of gas as the Tritons outscored the Titans 15-to-3 in the final frame. Â
Cristina Jones led the Titans with 21 points and 17 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Â She was two steals off a triple double as she had 8 steals to go along with her double-double.
Nicole Steiner also picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Â
Maddy Tauro was the third Titan to reach double-digit figures in scoring as she had 10 points.  Playing against one of the best defenses in the conference, the Titans actually had more turnovers (26) than their opponents (24) and less steals (15) than the Tritons (19).
In the beginning, both sides traded baskets early on before UCSD went on a 10-2 run to finish the first quarter. Â UCSD led 19-13 after the first quarter.
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After UCSD jumped to an early 23-13 led in the second quarter, the Titans went on a 14-0 run to take a 27-23 lead with 2:45 left.Â
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However, the Tritons outscored the Titans 12-to-5 over the final three minutes to take a 35-32 lead into halftime.
The Titans kept things within striking distance to start the third quarter. Â They kept the game within a single possession for the first half of the quarter before the Tritons went on a 15-6 run over the final five minutes of the third quarter. Â The Tritons led 60-48 at the end of the third quarter.
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The Tritons scored back-to-back layups to start the fourth quarter to take a 64-48 lead with 8:38 left in regulation. Â The Titans then began chipping away at the Tritons lead as they went on a 18-2 scoring run the rest of the way.
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The Tritons went cold over the final eight minutes as the strong Titans defense forced the Tritons to go 0-for-8 along with seven turnovers down the stretch. The Titans could've won that game in regulation when they were attempting their comeback.  They missed a couple layups down the stretch and went 6-for-8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
However in overtime, the Tritons got their stroke back as they jumped to a big lead quickly as they scored the first 13 points of the quarter. Â The Titans couldn't score until there was 1:54 left wit hthe score at 79-68.Â
The Titans will take on CSUN in their next game on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge.
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