Kansas forward Blair Waltz scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting
and led two other Jayhawks in double-figures en route to a, 66-56, victory
over host Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday at Titan Gym.
Cal State Fullerton falls to 1-2 overall on the season while Kansas improves
to 2-0 overall.
The Titans were paced by junior guard Tamara Quinn, who notched a team-high
15 points to go with four assists. Senior Heather Hansen and freshman
Andrea Adams each added 12 points, while junior Rochelle Ortega had five
points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Forward Crystal Kemp added 15 points and five rebounds for Kansas while
teammate Aquanita Burras tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Titans led 5-2 in the early going before the Jayhawks exploded for
a 14-2 run over a span of 2:32 to take a commanding 16-9 lead. Kansas
led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Cal State Fullerton
would not go away, cutting the lead to four points with just over a minute
left, thanks to an 8-0 run – five of those points by Quinn.
A bucket by Waltz with :52 remaining upped the lead back to six and the
Jayhawks went into the lockerroom at the half up by nine at, 32-23, thanks
to a last-second three-pointer from halfcourt by Erica Hallman.
A quick five points by Kansas upped the lead to 14 points immediately
out of the break, but the Titans got back into it thanks to a 14-4 run
that included back-to-back three pointers by both Quinn and Adams to cut
the deficit to, 41-37, with 13:10 remaining in the contest.
That would be as close as Cal State Fullerton would get as the Jayhawks
used a 7-0 run to open an 11-point advantage and never look back. Kansas
led by as many as 18 points in the contest.
The Titans dug a hole early, shooting just 24 percent from the floor in
the first half, but rebounded to shoot 41 percent after the break to trail
in the second half scoring by just one point, 34-33. Kansas shot just
under 44 percent for the game – including 52 percent from the floor
in the first half. The Jayhawks held a 40-32 advantage on the boards and
both teams committed 21 turnovers for the game.
Cal State Fullerton returns to action on Monday (Dec. 2) for its first
road contest of the season at Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. at Gersten Pavilion.
The Titans will then host Air Force on Wednesday (Nov. 4) at 5 p.m. in
the first game of a doubleheader with the men’s team at Titan Gym.
