Former UCLA standout guard Michelle Greco poured in a game-high 32 points
on 12-of-20 shooting to help lead “Love & Basketball” to
a, 79-73, exhibition victory over host Cal State Fullerton on Sunday evening
at Titan Gym.
“Love & Basketball,” an AAU team made up entirely of players
from the Southern California area, has defeated
the Titans in each of the last four seasons, all by seven points or less.
Cal State Fullerton was led by sophomore guard Tessa Moon, who tallied
a team-high 18 points with five assists on 6-of-13 shooting. Moon, who
played sparingly as a freshman in 2002-03, scored 16 points in all of
last season. Senior Rochelle Ortega was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor
and finished with 15 points and five boards while junior Catherine Holman
had 12 points and three rebounds. Junior Melanie Mosley was the team’s
leading rebounder with seven.
The Titans trailed by as many as eight points in the opening half, but
rallied to take the lead thanks to a 13-2 run in a three minute span late
in the period. A Greco lay-up with :42 remaining gave “Love &
Basketball” a slim one-point lead, but a pair of free throws by sophomore
Amber Pruitt put the Titans back ahead with 11 seconds remaining. Greco
would hit 1-of-2 from the line with three seconds on the clock to send
the two teams into the lockerroom tied at 38-38 at halftime.
A back-and-forth second half saw neither team lead by more than four points
in the opening 10 minutes, with Fullerton opening a four-point lead at
the 15:10 mark. Trailing by a point with 9:55 remaining, “Love &
Basketball” opened a seven-point lead with a 10-2 run and never looked
back as the Titans could get to within only three points with 3:09 remaining
on a pair of free throws by Mosley.
Aside from Greco’s offensive fireworks, another pair of former UCLA
standouts were also in double figures as Janae Hubbard and Marie Philman
added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Titans, who ecliped 73 points in a game only six times in 28 games
last season (five of those ending in Cal State Fullerton victories), shot
.464 from the field and .783 from the free throw line. However, the Titans
were dominated on the boards, 42-34, and committed 23 turnovers to the
opposition’s 15.
Greco nailed 17 of her 32 points in the first half on 8-of-12 shooting
and added nine rebounds and four steals overall for the game.
Cal State Fullerton returns to action on Nov. 13 with its final exhibition
of the season against Point Loma at Titan Gym. Tip off is scheduled for
5 p.m., and will be the first of a doubleheader with the Fullerton men’s
basketball team, which will take on the Double Pump All-Stars in an exhibition
game at approximately 7:05 p.m.
