Fresno State junior Veronica Mack scored 15
of her 19 points in the second half and the Bulldogs defense held the
Titans scoreless for a stretch of 6:18 after the break as FSU pulled away
from host Cal State Fullerton for a 71-53 non-conference women's basketball
victory on Friday night at Titan Gym.
The Titans remained winless on the season, falling to 0-8 overall and
dropping their last 11 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Fresno State improved to 5-3 overall on the year.
Fullerton was led by sophomore Amber Pruitt, who tallied a career-high
20 points and narrowly missed her third double-double of the year with
nine rebounds. Pruitt has scored in double figures in six of the Titans'
eight games this season.
Just under six minutes into the second half, back-to-back buckets by Meghann
Keathley and Pruitt brought the Titans to within four points at 39-35
as Fullerton battled back from a 10-point deficit early on in the period.
However, the Titans shooters went cold from the floor, going without a
basket for the next six minutes and watching the Fresno State offense
break open the game with a 14-0 run -- 11 of those points coming from
the hot hand of Mack.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 24 points in the second half and never
let the Titans come any closer than 15 points with 6:50 to play.
Fullerton started off well, leading by as many as three points at 14-11
with 7:32 gone in the first half, and keeping things close with five ties
in the opening 13 minutes. However, a 13-2 run by the Bulldogs over four-minute
span late in the half, opened up an 11-point lead en route to a 32-26
advantage for Fresno State at halftime.
Mack added five rebounds and hit 7-of-11 from the floor en route to her
19 points. Senior Mindy Clark notched a double-double with 10 points and
11 rebounds. Leading scorer Aritta Lane, who entered the game averaging
18.6 ppg, finished with only nine points, including 5-for-5 from the foul
line.
FSU shot .551 from the floor for the game, including over 61 percent in
the second half to break things open. The Titans shot .351 from the field
and were outrebounded 40-30.
With the conclusion of final exams and winter break looming, Cal State
Fullerton will not return to the hardwood until New Year's Eve day (Dec.
31) when the Titans play host to Idaho State to close out its four-game
homestand and cap off the non-conference portion of its schedule. Tip-off
is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Titan Gym.
