Amber Pruitt's potential game-winning bank shot bounced off the rim at
the buzzer Thursday night and Cal State Fullerton lost its sixth consecutive
game, 58-57, in a Big West Conference contest at UC Riverside.
The Titans fell to 1-9 overall and 0-3 in the Big West while the Highlanders
improved to 5-5, 2-1. Fullerton opened 0-3 in conference for the first
time since 2001-02 and is in the midst of its longest losing streak since
opening last year 0-9.
The game-winning attempt was set up after UCR senior Casandra Reeves,
who entered the game shooting 87 percent from the line, missed the front
end of a 1-and-1 with :17 remaining in the game and the Highlanders clinging
to the one-point advantage.
After a 30-second timeout, the Titans inbounded the ball, but saw it knocked
away out of bounds, leaving just 7.2 seconds on the clock.
Titan sophomore India McDaniel then drove down the left side and lobbed
a fingertip pass into Pruitt, but her three-footer high off the glass
bounced off the front of the rim and into the arms of a Riverside player
to end the game.
It was a back-and-forth first 10 minutes to open the second half as the
Titan clinched their first lead since the opening minutes on a jumper
by Charlee Underwood with just under four minutes gone.
Then, trailing by one with 12:52 remaining, the Titans got a basket from
McDaniel and a bucket and free throw from Underwood to build a four-point
advantage – Fullerton's largest lead of the contest.
However, a 15-6 run by the Highlanders over the next five minutes erased
the Titans' advantage, giving UCR a 52-46 lead with 6:14 to go.
Riverside led by as many as seven points, but a 10-2 run by the Titans
gave Fullerton the lead once again at 57-56 with 1:46 remaining. It was
short-lived, however, as Reeves drove the length of the court and dropped
in the eventual game-winner.
Fullerton struggled shooting-wise in the first half, hitting on just 6-of-33
(.182), but kept themselves in it by hitting 12-of-16 from the free throw
line in the half and 22-of-28 for the game. Riverside led by three at
the break, 28-25, shooting .571 from the field.
McDaniel had a career night for the Titans with 18 points, going 6-of-8
from both the floor and the foul line. Pruitt finished with 13 points
and Charlee Underwood added 11.
Freshman center Kemie Nkele led UCR with 22 pionts, 15 rebounds and a
career-high 8 blocked shots. Agy Frankovits added 16 points in the win.
The Titans return to action on Saturday (Jan. 8) as they travel to future
conference rival UC Davis for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
