Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score

FULLERTON, CA - Cal State Fullerton freshman Lauren Chow scored a game-high 22 points to lead four other teammates in double figures and help the host Titans to a 94-83 victory over visiting Pacific in a Big West Conference women's basketball match-up on Saturday evening at Titan Gym.

The win snaps a three-game losing streak for Fullerton as it improved to 3-13 overall and 2-3 in Big West play. Pacific had its brief two-game winning streak snapped in falling to 7-11 overall and 2-3 in league play.

The offensive output was a season-high for the Titans and was the most points scored in a game by Cal State Fullerton in almost 10 years dating back to a 96-87 victory at Long Beach State on Feb. 22, 1998. The Titans had eclipsed 80 points only one other time this season, scoring 80 in a 12-point victory over San Jose State.

Chow hit on 6-of-11 from the floor and dished out five assists to lead the way while junior Toni Thomas added 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting for Fullerton, which shot just over 55 percent from the floor for the game.

Freshman Ashley Richie matched a career-high with 16 points while freshman Daviyonne Weathersby (13 points) and senior Alison Bennett (12 points) each set career-high's in scoring on the night.

After trailing by as many as seven points in the first half, the Titans caught fire, going on a 10-2 run over a two-minute span midway through the period to regain the lead at 20-19. A pair of free throws by Jasmine Dana gave the Tigers the lead once again minutes later, but Fullerton was undaunted, exploding for a 27-6 run to build its largest lead of the game at 49-29 with just under three minutes to play in the half en route to a 50-36 advantage at halftime.

The Titans would lead the rest of the way, but Pacific would put together a valiant comeback attempt, whittling a 10-point Fullerton advantage down to just three points thanks to an 11-4 run and highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Dana and Beckett Brennan to make it 66-63 with 11:44 to go.

That would be as close as the Tigers would get as the Titans would close the game on an 10-1 run, including 6-for-6 from the line, after Pacific got back to within three points with 3:32 remaining in the game.

Amy VanHollebeke led the Tigers with 16 points and eight rebounds while Janae Young and Emma Head contributed 14 points each. Whitney Price narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine boards in the loss.

Cal State Fullerton hits the road for a pair of games next week as the Titans travel east to take on UC Riverside on Wednesday (Jan. 23) at 5 p.m. before heading to Cal State Bakersfield for a non-conference affair on Saturday (Jan. 26) at 7 p.m.