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Titans
Come From Behind to Beat Southern Utah Dec. 15, 2001 – Fullerton, Calif. Box Score Cal State Fullerton junior forward Heather Hansen’s jumper with 1:10 remaining in the contest gave the Titans a slim one-point lead and the home team held off numerous Southern Utah rallies down the stretch as Fullerton came back from a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat the visiting Thunderbirds, 70-67, in front of 340 fans at Titan Gym in a non-conference women’s basketball game on Saturday night. Cal State Fullerton improved to 2-5 overall on the season, topping last year’s win total and tallying the most victories by a Titan squad since the 2-25 team in 1999-00. Southern Utah fell to 2-6 overall. After trailing most of the game, the Titans mounted their comeback when the Thunderbirds got into foul trouble midway through the second half. Fullerton, which trailed by as many as 20 points after the break, used a 15-2 run over a span of 4:50 to pull to within six points at 54-48 with 8:56 remaining in the period. Southern Utah then upped the lead back to nine points a minute later thanks to a three pointer by Lindsey Hille and a bucket by Caroline Heaton. However, the Titans would not back down, using an 8-0 run to close to within one point at 61-60 with 3:33 remaining. Heaton hit a short jumper to put the Thunderbirds back up by three, but Fullerton came right back and tied the game at 63-63 on a free throw by sophomore Tamara Quinn and a put back off the missed second free throw by sophomore Rochelle Ortega. A pair of free throws by Megan Woolston regained the lead for SUU with 1:59 remaining to set up the dramatic final minute. Out of a timeout, Cal State Fullerton senior guard Lindsay Sotero, who scored a career-high 11 points on the night, came free on the right corner and drained her second three-pointer of the night to give the Titans only their fourth lead of the game at 66-65 with 1:45 left on the clock. Sally Johnson hit a pair of free throws for the Thunderbirds to regain the advantage, but it was all Cal State Fullerton and its defense down the stretch for the victory. Hansen hit a jumper just inside the three-point line at the top of the key to regain the lead for the Titans and, despite Fullerton hitting only 2-of-4 from the free throw line in the final :26 seconds, held off Southern Utah and a last-second three-point attempt by Woolston that fell short as the Titans clinched the victory. Ortega scored a game-high 16 points for Cal State Fullerton and notched her first-ever Division I double-double with 10 rebounds to go with two blocks. Sotero added 11 poins and three assists while Hansen and Quinn chipped in 10 points apiece. Southern Utah was paced by Johnson, who scored 16 points and had eight assists to go with two steals on the night. Heaton and Hille added 11 points each while Sarah Hutton came off the bench to grab a team-high 10 rebounds. Quinn also added a career-high four steals on the night. The Titans shot a season-best 44.1% from the floor, including 16-of-24 (.667) in the second half to spark the comeback. Fullerton also outmatched Southern Utah on the boards, 42-37. Cal State Fullerton returns to action on Wednesday (Dec. 19) at 7 p.m. as they take to the road to face nationally-ranked Colorado State. The Titans will then travel to Air Force on Friday (Dec. 21) before taking off for Christmas break. ####
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