Titans Sweep Series With 71-59 Victory Feb. 21, 2004 – Fullerton, Calif. Box
Score
Cal State Fullerton had four players in double figures, including 17 points
each from freshman Charlee Underwood and senior Rochelle Ortega, to help
lift the Titans to a 71-59 victory over visiting Utah State and sweep
the season series from the Aggies on Saturday night at Titan Gym.
Fullerton improved to 7-16 overall and 7-7 in Big West Conference play,
tying the overall win total for all of last season. The seven conference
victories are also the most since 1997-98 when the Titans went 7-8 in
Big West play. The Aggies fell to 4-19 overall and 4-11 in the Big West.
Underwood (San Francisco, Calif.) added nine rebounds and a pair of steals
in 38 minutes, while scoring in double figures for the fourth consecutive
contest. Senior Tamara Quinn had 13 points and nine rebounds to go with
her six assists while sophomore Amber Pruitt came off the bench to contribute
10 points and three rebounds.
Utah State was led by Ali Aird, who had 15 points and seven rebounds before
fouling out with 3:43 to go in the second half. Brittany Tressler and
Christina Zdenek each added 11 points for the Aggies.
Trailing by six points at the break after Cal State Fullerton led for
most of the first half, Utah State came out on fire to start the second
period, outscoring the Titans 12-5 in the first 6:04 to take its first
lead at 43-42 with 13:56 remaining. However, that would be the last time
the Aggies would see the lead as a 10-0 run by Fullerton increased its
advantage to nine points with just under 10 minutes remaining and the
Titans never looked back.
Fullerton led by as many as 20 points in the second half at 69-49 with
3:43 remaining, but Utah State made a game of it late, closing with a
10-2 run for the final tally.
The Titans outrebounded their opponents for the second consecutive night,
and for only the fifth time in 23 games this season, with a 39-35 advantage
on the boards. Cal State Fullerton won despite shooting just 34 percent
from the floor for the game, including 30 percent from the field in the
second half. The Titans committed only 12 turnovers on the night and hit
just under 81 percent from the free throw line.
Cal State Fullerton hits the road for the final time this season next
week, traveling to the central coast of California to take on Cal Poly
on Saturday (Feb. 28) and UC Santa Barbara (March 1) on Monday. Both games
are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.
