Titans Welcome Wolf Pack Before Final Exams

Dec. 9, 2011

FULLERTON, CA -

THIS WEEK...
Nevada at Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011 | 3 p.m.
Titan Gym (4,000)
Coverage: Live Audio | Live Video | Gametracker

TIP-OFF: With final exams in the classroom looming on the horizon, the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team (3-5 overall) will look to pass its final on the court this weekend as the Titans host former Big West Conference rival Nevada on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 10) at 3 p.m. at Titan Gym.

BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (CSUF.Athletics), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) and Vimeo.com (vimeo.com/fullertontitans). In addition, the women's basketball team has established its own official Facebook fan page, just search for Cal State Fullerton Women's Basketball.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? GOOD!: Thanks to a partnership with Arizona-based Stretch Internet, select Cal State Fullerton women's basketball contests will be broadcast live over the Internet at FullertonTitans.com. To access the links, click on the headphones icon in the upper right-hand corner of FullertonTitans.com.

I SEE YOU: For the sixth consecutive season, live streaming video for all of Cal State Fullerton's home regular season contests and selected road games will be available (on a subscription basis) live over the Internet courtesy the Big West TV platform. For a monthly subscription of \$9.95 or an annual subscription of \$79.95, fans can catch all the exclusive action from the comfort of their home computers. For more information, please visit www.BigWest.org/TV or access the video player at www.fansonly.com/schools/bigw/allaccess/index.html.

I NEED STATS, STAT!: For the third consecutive season, Cal State Fullerton men's and women's basketball will feature live stats via CBS College Sports' Gametracker interface for all of the Titans' home games as well as select road contests. Links will be available on both the men and women's basketball schedule pages at FullertonTitans.com.

NEVADA BRIEFLY: The Wolf Pack enter Saturday's contest with a 2-6 overall record after falling in overtime at Long Beach State on Thursday, 61-58... Nevada has lost four straight since a 71-69 win over Butler on Nov. 25, falling to the likes of Penn State (103-65), Pacific (75-70) in overtime, and Portland State (80-73)... Kate Kevorken and Kayla Williams have combined to lead or co-lead the team in scoring in all but two games this season... Kevorken is averaging 15.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg while shooting .471 from the field to pace the offense, one of three players in double figures... Williams is averaging 12.5 ppg to go with a team-high 9.1 rpg and 50 percent shooting from the floor while Danika Sharp is averaging 11.8 ppg with a team-high 12 steals... the Wolf Pack are averaging 65.9 ppg, 44.2 rpg, and shooting .395 from the field while opponents are averaging 73.4 ppg, 40.9 rpg, and shooting .392 from the floor... Nevada, which returns six letter winners and two starters from 2010-11, finished 22-11 overall last season and reached the second round of the WNIT, defeating Saint Mary's (65-62) before falling to USC (78-59).

SERIES NOTES: The Wolf Pack lead the all-time series with the Titans, 10-6, having won 10 of the last 11 meetings after Fullerton won the first five games in the series... the Titans' last win came just over six years ago to the day, posting a 53-49 win at Titan Gym on Dec. 6, 2005... Nevada won the last meeting between the two, 82-57, on Dec. 16, 2007, in Reno... the two teams clashed 13 times as members of the Big West Conference from 1993-2000 with the Wolf Pack posting a 8-5 mark against the Titans in that span, including a win in the Big West Tournament in 1998... four of Fullerton's six series wins have come at Titan Gym.

CONFERENCE CALL: Cal State Fullerton is 81-65 (.555) all-time against the current Western Athletic Conference alignment, having played all eight members of the league: Fresno State (19-11), Hawaii (12-12), Idaho (4-11), Louisiana Tech (1-0), Nevada (6-10), New Mexico State (7-11), San Jose State (26-9), and Utah State (6-1)... the Titans have won six of the last eight meetings with WAC squads, including two straight over San Jose State the last two seasons.

CHOW CLIMBING: Senior guard Lauren Chow became the 21st player in school history to reach 1,000 for her career as a three-pointer with just under eight minutes to play against No. 24 Gonzaga on Dec. 2 at home put her over the top. With 10 points during the team's recent trip to Arizona, Chow lept over Joey Ray for 20th on the all-time scoring list and now stands just 63 points shy of of Terri Withers (1981-85) and Amber Pruitt (2002-06), who are tied 18th place with 1,078 career points.

EIGHT IN SIGHT FOR RICHARDSON: A solid start to her senior campaign has Megan Richardson rapidly climbing up the school's scoring charts as her 30 points last week in Arizona upped her career total to 1,380 points - cementing her hold on the No. 9 spot in school history. Richardson, who has scored in double figures in six of the Titans' eight games this season, needs just three more points to pass Charlee Underwood, who finished with 1,382 points from 2003-07, for the No. 8 spot.

BASKETS WANTED: After opening the season red-hot in their first three wins of the season, the Titans have struggled shooting ball during their current losing skid, hitting on just 29 percent from the floor in the last five contests - including under 30 percent in the last four straight since shooting .387 at SMU on Nov. 25. Prior to its trip to Dallas, Fullerton had been shooting at a .455 clip (86-for-189) to start the year with a perfect 3-0 record.

FREE THROWS WOULDN'T BE BAD EITHER: Cal State Fullerton's shooting woes have also extended to the free throw line where the Titans are shooting just .652 through their first eight games of the season - ranking eighth out of nine teams in the Big West Conference as of Dec. 9. It's a drastic departure from Fullerton teams of recent years as the Titans have led the Big West in free throw percentage in each of the last three seasons and four of the last five years - including a school-record .771 (398-for-516) in 2008-09.

GETTING OFFENSIVE: Although in a losing effort, the Titans were dominate on the offensive glass Tuesday in Tempe as Fullerton posted 27 offensive rebounds - the most since the Titans grabbed 28 offensive boards as part of a 52-rebound performance against Arizona on Nov. 26, 1993. Against the Sun Devils on Tuesday, Fullerton turned those 27 boards into a season-high 18 second-chance points, leading ASU by an 18-9 count in that category for the game.

SMOOTH "JAS": Helping the Titans to their impressive finish on the boards against Arizona State was sophomore Jasmine Grayson, who tied her career high with eight boards - four of those on the offensive end - against the Sun Devils. With 13 total rebounds during the two-game jaunt to Arizona, the Los Angeles native has already surpassed her rebounding total from her freshman season with 45 boards (compared to just 32 in 24 games last season) and ranks among the Big West's top 15 in the category (tied for No. 11) as of Dec. 9.

OLIVIER RETURNS: Redshirt sophomore Mya Olivier returned to the Fullerton lineup during the Titans' trip to Arizona, coming off the bench to score seven points and grab a pair of rebounds in 19 minutes at Northern Arizona before starting and scoring five points and grabbing three rebounds in 23 minutes at Arizona State. It's a welcome sight for Fullerton fans as the Titans were averaging just 54.0 ppg, 42.5 rpg, and shooting just .277 from the field without her in games against Tennessee State and No. 24 Gonzaga. Olivier missed the better part of three games after suffering a head injury at SMU on Nov. 25 in Dallas.

STOP! THIEF!!: The Titans' defense got their hands on a lot of Northern Arizona's 24 turnovers on Sunday night, tallying 20 steals against the Lumberjacks - the highest total for a Fullerton squad since the Titans swiped 22 steals against Utah Valley on Jan. 26, 2006. The Titans, who added 15 steals on 27 Arizona State turnovers two nights later in Tempe, posted back-to-back double-digit steal totals for the first time since games against Cal State Northridge and CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 13 and Feb. 17, 2010, respectively, and ranks tied for fifth at 10.8 steals per game in the Big West Conference as of Dec. 9.

RICHARDSON'S REIGN COMES TO AN END: After being held to just nine points at Arizona State on Tuesday, Megan Richardson fell from the No. 1 spot in the Big West Conference scoring race and had her double-digit scoring streak ended at five games. However, not all is gloom and doom for the senior from Manhattan Beach, who is still second in the league in scoring (as of Dec. 7) at 15.3 ppg and has reached double figures in six of the team's eight games overall - including a pair of 20-point outings - while entering the weekend as one of only three players in the Big West to reach 100 points thus far this season, joining Cal State Northridge's Jasmine Erving (128, 16.0 ppg) and UC Irvine's Jazmyne White (104, 13.0 ppg).

DOUBLE-DIGIT DOMINATION: You know the old saying, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes?" We'd like to add a third -- Megan Richardson and double-digit points. The Titans spectacular scoring guard has reached double digits in points in 71 of her 100 career games (71 percent), including 21 career 20-point contests and a 33-point effort against Cal Poly on Jan. 13, 2011. She is one of only three active Fullerton players with at least 10 career double-digit games (Lauren Chow and Mya Olivier) and is one of two active Titans who have reached 20 points in their collegiate careers (Chow).

BUSHONG BREAKS INTO THE TOP 10: Junior Lauren Bushong notched her 40th career block at Arizona State on Tuesday night, moving her into sole possession of 10th place on the school's all-time list, needing just five more to match Andrea Thieme for the No. 9 spot. Last year, as a sophomore, Bushong, who has seven thus far this season (tied for sixth overall in the Big West as of Dec. 7), finished with a career-high 29 blocks - good for No. 8 on Fullerton's single-season list.

THANKS, DECEMBER, YOU'RE NO HELP: Cal State Fullerton's road woes continued over the weekend as the Titans dropped a pair of games away from home, extending their road losing streak to nine consecutive games dating back to a 77-65 win at Long Beach State on Jan. 19 last season. Fullerton gets no relief from the road in the month of December as the Titans are slated to play six of their eight games this month away from home.

IRON WOMEN: With her start at Arizona State on Dec. 6, senior Megan Richardson became only the 35th player in the history of the program to appear in 100 career games, joining teammate and fellow senior Lauren Chow (vs. Loyola Marymount on Nov. 21) as Titans who have reached the milestone this season. Chow's 105 career games played rank just outside the top 10 list, needing just nine more games to move into a four-way tie for 10th with Charlee Underwood (2003-07), Audrey Taylor (2002-07), and Heidi James (1989-93). Last season, Ashley Richie (2007-11) set the all-time record with 122 career games while teammate Lyndsey Grove (2007-11) was right behind her, finishing her career with 119 appearances to both break Genia Miller's previous record of 118 games that had stood since 1991.