After Long Layoff, Titans Trek to Bay Area

Dec. 19, 2011

FULLERTON, CA -

THIS WEEK...
Cal State Fullerton at San Francisco
Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 | 7 p.m.
War Memorial Gym (5,300)
Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats

Cal State Fullerton at San Jose State
Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011 | 7 p.m.
The Event Center (5,000)
Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats

TIP-OFF: Fresh off a 10-day layoff for final exams, the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball team finally returns to the court with a pair of midweek games in the Bay Area prior to the Christmas holiday. The Titans, who will return to Northern California for the start of Big West play prior to the new year, open on Tuesday (Dec. 20) at San Francisco before heading to San Jose State on Thursday (Dec. 22) to take on the Spartans. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. from their respective sites.

NEW LOOK BIG WEST: The Big West Conference Board of Directors announced on Dec. 12, 2011, that San Diego State will return as the conference's 11th member effective July 1, 2013. The Aztecs, whose women's teams were members of the league from 1985-90, were an original member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association from 1969-78, and will join Hawaii as the league's "newest" members. The Warriors, whose women's programs were part of the Big West from 1984-96, were introduced as the 10th member of the league on Dec. 10, 2010, and will officially compete as a member of the Big West in July of 2012.

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.

SAN FRANCISCO BRIEFLY: The Dons are 2-10 overall on the year, snapping a nine-game losing streak with an 86-71 win over Sacramento State on Dec. 17... USF's only other win this season came back on Nov. 13 on the road, handing San Jose State an 88-77 defeat... the Dons are 1-4 at home... seven of San Francisco's 10 losses have come by double digits... Rheina Ale leads the team offensively at 14.8 ppg to go with 5.2 rpg and 35 assists... Whitney Daniels is tops on the boards at 7.0 rpg and leads the team with 14 blocks... the Dons are averaging 64.8 ppg, 39.6 rpg, and shooting .373 from the floor while opponents are averaging 73.6 ppg, 46.1 rpg, and shooting .398 from the field.

SAN JOSE STATE BRIEFLY: The Spartans enter the week with a 2-8 overall record and will have a home contest against Air Force (Dec. 19) before welcoming Cal State Fullerton... San Jose State snapped a brief two-game skid with a 74-53 win over Santa Clara on Dec. 17 for its first road win in two years... the Spartans are 0-3 against the Big West Conference this season with losses to UC Davis, Cal Poly, and Cal State Northridge... Brittany Johnson leads a trio of double-digit scorers at 18.4 ppg to go with 8.2 rpg and shooting .449 from the floor... Sara Plavljanin (14.7 ppg) and Ta'Rea Cunnigan (10.8 ppg) are also in double figures offensively... the Spartans are averaging 62.0 ppg, 41.7 rpg and shooting .353 from the floor while opponents are averaging 73.0 ppg, 46.0 rpg, and shooting .376 from the field.

SERIES NOTES: San Francisco leads the all-time series with Cal State Fullerton, 9-5, but the two schools have traded victories over the last five meetings with the Titans winning three of those contests... Fullerton defeated USF, 69-66, last season at home... the Titans are just 1-5 at War Memorial Gym, posting their first win on the Dons' home floor in 2008 with a 60-57 win... Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series with San Jose State, 26-9, having won the last four-straight meetings with the Spartans dating to 2006... the Titans downed SJSU, 76-45, last season at home and have won their last two trips to San Jose in 2006 (69-52) and 2009 (79-77)... this will be the fifth meeting between the two schools in the last six years... Fullerton is 13-4 all-time against San Jose State in San Jose... the Titans were 16-4 against the Spartans when both were members of the Big West Conference from 1987-96.

CONFERENCE CALL: San Francisco will be the fourth West Coast Conference opponent for the Titans this season after they posted wins over Pepperdine (65-51 on Nov. 16) and LMU (79-52 on Nov. 21) before falling to No. 24 Gonzaga (73-60 on Dec. 2)... Fullerton is 36-53 (.404) overall against the current WCC alignment: BYU (4-3), Gonzaga (2-4), LMU (6-8), Pepperdine (9-12), Portland (0-2), Saint Mary's (2-3), San Diego (7-12), San Francisco (5-9), and Santa Clara (5-3)... Cal State Fullerton is 82-65 (.558) all-time against the current Western Athletic Conference alignment, having played all eight members of the league in the history of the program: Fresno State (19-11), Hawaii (12-12), Idaho (4-11), Louisiana Tech (1-0), Nevada (7-10), New Mexico State (7-11), San Jose State (26-9), and Utah State (6-1)... the Titans have won seven of the last nine meetings with WAC squads, including its win over Nevada on Dec. 10.

WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT SHOOTING WOES?: So, after struggling from the floor over their previous four games, the Titans came out with their shooting shoes on against Nevada, hitting just under 46 percent from the field for the game after not being able to clear 30 percent in field goals since Thanksgiving. Fullerton's .455 from the floor was its second-highest total of the year (.477 at Sacramento State on Nov. 11) and the fourth time that the Titans have shot better than 40 percent from the field this season (4-0 in those games).

BLOCKS A LOT: The Titans held their own block party against Nevada on Dec. 10, notching a season-high seven blocks (the third-highest total by a Big West team this season) including a career-high four swats from freshman Natalie Williams -- the most by a Fullerton player this season. Sophomore Alex Thomas and freshman Chante Miles also each tallied their first career blocks against the Wolf Pack while Mya Olivier swatted down her fourth of the season as the Titans posted their highest block total since blocking seven shots at Pacific on Jan. 2, 2011.

WHO NEEDS REBOUNDS?: Cal State Fullerton has been strong on the boards all season long, but the Titans' win over Nevada marked the first time that they have won a game when trailing in the rebounding column all season after opening with losses in their first five such contests.

CLOSE SHAVE: Fullerton's two-point win over Nevada marked the first time in nine games this season that the Titans have had a game decided by single digits.

MMMMM... DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Insert your best Homer Simpson impression here. Redshirt sophomore Mya Olivier did her best impression of the In-N-Out favorite, tallying her second double-double of the season in the Titans' win over Nevada, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as Fullerton posted the two-point win. It was the fifth career double-double for Olivier, who has reached double digits in rebounds four times in seven games this season, but did so for the first time since garbbing 10 boards against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 21.

IWUOHA GETS OFFENSIVE: Need a second chance? Freshman Kathleen Iwuoha is your woman. The Rancho Cucamonga native has grabbed 22 of her 44 rebounds this season on the offensive end to lead the team and tied a career high with eight boards in the Titans' win over Nevada on Dec. 10.

WINS BEGIN AT 40: Shoot well, and the wins will come. Cal State Fullerton is a perfect 4-0 this season when shooting 40 percent or better from the field, including shooting a season-best .477 in the season-opener at Sacramento State -- the team's best shooting performance since shooting .483 from the floor against Cal Poly on Jan. 13, 2011. The Titans' defense has also done well at holding opponents under that "magic number," keeping the other team under 40 percent from the field four times and posting a 3-1 mark in those contests.

DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)... DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): Fullerton's defense has been up to the challenge thus far in 2011-12 after finishing at or near the bottom in numerous defensive categories a season ago. The Titans, who ranked 8th in scoring defense (71.7 ppg), 9th in field goal percentage defense (.432), and 8th in rebounding defense (41.8 rpg), last season while leading the league in three-point defense (.301), stand among the top four in the Big West entering the week in three of those four same categories. Fullerton has allowed the second-fewest points per game (64.1 ppg), stands 4th in field goal percentage defense (.396), and leads the league in three-point defense (.281), while standing 6th in rebounding defense (42.0 rpg).

CHOW REACHES MILESTONE: 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 53 points shy of of Terri Withers (1981-85) and Amber Pruitt (2002-06), who are tied 18th place with 1,078 career points.

RICHARDSON INTO EIGHTH: A solid start to her senior campaign has Megan Richardson rapidly climbing up the career scoring charts as her 26 points last week against Nevada pushed her over 1,400 points for her career, passing Charlee Underwood for the No. 8 spot with 1,406 points through nine games this season. Richardson, who has reached double figures seven times this year, needs just 16 more points to pass Meg Gallagher, who finished with 1,421 points from 1981-85, for the No. 7 spot.

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 106 career games played rank just outside the top 10 list, needing just eight 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.

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 72 of her 101 career games (72 percent), including 22 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 Dec. 6, moving her into sole possession of 10th place on the school's all-time list and needing just five more to match Andrea Thieme for the No. 9 spot. Last year, as a sophomore, Bushong, who has seven blocks thus far this season, finished with a career-high 29 blocks - good for No. 8 on Fullerton's single-season list.