Cal State Fullerton senior post Heather Hansen scored a team-high 20 points
and led two other Titans in double figures as the Fullerton women’s
basketball team won its 2002-03 season opener, 74-61, over visiting Centenary
College on Sunday afternoon at Titan Gym.
Cal State Fullerton improved to 1-0 overall on the season while the Ladies
fell to 0-2 overall.
Hansen got her points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor and also had
seven rebounds and three assists. Junior Rochelle Ortega added 16 points
on 5-of-7 from the floor and seven boards, while sophomore Catherine Holman
added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench in 14 minutes of play.
Alexis Pettway had 18 points and four rebounds to lead Centenary College.
She was joined in double-figures by Julie Danieles, who added 10 points
and three boards.
In a slow to develop first half, the Titans jumped out to an 8-0 lead
in the first seven minutes of the contest, leading by as many as 11 points
on three occassions in the first half en route to a 31-21 lead at the
break. Cal State Fullerton shot just .316 from the floor in the half compared
to the Ladies’ .143.
Things picked up in the second half as Centenary began its run to try
and cut down the deficit. An 8-2 run by the Ladies to open the period
brought them to within four points with just under three minutes gone
in the second half. The Titans rebuilt the lead to eight points with 14:02
remaining and never looked back from that point.
Cal State Fullerton led by as many as 18 points in the period while shooting
just over 51 percent from the floor. The Titans also held a 51-45 advantage
in rebounding for the game and had 20 assists to Centenary’s nine.
Fullerton returns to action on Monday night (Nov. 25) as they host 2001-02
NCAA Tournament participant New Mexico at 7 p.m. at Titan Gym.
