4-13,1-5Big Wes
Cal State Fullerton
11-8,3-3Big Wes
Cal State Fullerton Holds On Late for 65-64 Home Win vs. Cal Poly
1/30/2020 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
FULLERTON, Calif. — In a wild Big West clash including a 13-0 run by Cal Poly before a 15-0 stretch in response for Cal State Fullerton, the Titan women's basketball team prevailed by the slimmest of margins on Thursday night at home, 65-64 for a conference victory.
After starting the second quarter down 15-12 in Titan Gym, Fullerton pulled within one point back, 18-17, thanks to a Madison Freemon 3-pointer with 7:24 to play until halftime.
Junior forward Sierra Campisano sank a jumper soon afterward, however, igniting the stretch of 13 straight Mustang points, a run that ballooned the lead to 31-17 with 3:46 remaining to the break. Campisano accounted for nine of the 13 points during the sequence, while Alicia Roufosse netted the other four, helping the Mustangs head to intermission up 36-22.
The Titans (11-8; 3-3 BWC) would rally midway through the third quarter, though, using a pivotal 15-0 run of their own to pull within only a point — 44-43 — with 4:01 left in the period.
CSF's Taylor Turney would later tie the game at 45 on a pair of free throws, but Campisano responded with a 3-pointer to put the Mustangs back in front en route to a 56-49 lead to end the third.
With 4:35 to play in regulation, Amiee Book brought the Titans within 62-57 on a jumper, before Megan Nieto added another on the next possession, to cut the gap to 62-59. Campisano then made one of two free throws at the 2:32 mark, but Book hit a 3 on the Titans' next trip up the floor to narrow the deficit to only 63-62.
Raina Perez then provided Fullerton the lead with 1:46 remaining, crucially dropping a runner in the key to make it 64-63. From there, neither team allowed the other to score for more than another minute, until Book made one of two free-throw opportunities with 33 seconds remaining to boost the lead to 65-63.
With 16 seconds on the clock, Mustang junior guard Malia Holt drew a foul from Perez and proceeded to make her first free throw, but missed the second. Campisano came up with the rebound and kicked it out to Gianna Silvestri for a 3-point try, but CSF's Carolyn Gill got a hand on the shot, blocking it out of bounds, giving Cal Poly (4-13; 1-5 BWC) one more chance with six seconds left.
Coming out of a timeout, the Mustangs worked the ball down low to Campisano, but her attempt at a potential game-winner from the right block into contact rimmed out as time expired, leaving Fullerton with the win.
Campisano, who went 3-for-4 from 3-point range (tying her season best from behind the arc), finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, representing her sixth double-double of the year.
Mustang point guard Abbey Ellis had a 16-point, six-assist effort, while Roufosse added 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting to go with six boards. Perez finished with 16 points to lead CSF.
Cal Poly continues its road trip visiting CSUN (9-11; 4-2 BWC) at 4 p.m. Saturday. BigWestTV will stream from The Matadome on Feb. 1, with radio commentary by Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer available via GoPoly.com.
Photos © David E. Holmes
