It had been a close game the entire night, and with 1:59 left to play, it was anyone’s guess as to who would come away with a win in this Big West Conference showdown. After numerous missed shots from both sides, it was CSUN (10-8, 5-1 Big West) that came up with a critical steal that resulted in the game-winning basket to defeat Cal Poly (6-11, 3-2) 79-77 Thursday night at the Matadome. Matador forward Violet Alama came up with… Read more

SANTA BARBARA, Calif — CSUN held the two-time Big West Conference Tournament champion UC Santa Barbara under 70 points, and if you take Orlando Johnson out of the equation, the rest of the Gauchos only managed 48 points. Despite the Matadors exceptional defense, they still found a way to drop their fourth game in Big West play. In what has become a problem all season, CSUN’s horrendous offense paved the way for a 69-61 loss against UCSB Thursday night at… Read more

How does a team shut down an opponent for five minutes and go on a 16-0 run to erase an 11-point deficit? CSUN head coach Bobby Braswell had the perfect strategy. He went with the “5 to 1” defense. With a new defensive system, CSUN pulled out a much-needed Big West Conference victory over UC Davis, 84-80, Saturday night at the Matadome. After a blow-out loss to Pacific at home Thursday night, Braswell, who missed that game due to being… Read more

After a disappointing performance in the first half, CSUN (9-8, 4-1 Big West) mounted an impressive comeback victory, defeating Pacific (9-7, 3-2) 72-68 Saturday night at the Alex G. Spanos Center. “I thought the kids played hard and earned the win in the second half,” CSUN head coach Jason Flowers said. “We have a great group of young women and they showed great character tonight.” Finding themselves down 33-20 at halftime, it seemed as though the Matadors were about to… Read more

The Matadors headed into Friday night’s matchup as the underdog against No. 6 USC and quickly showed why as they were swept in straight sets at the Galen Center. CSUN (1-4, 0-2 MPSF) failed to keep up with their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foes early in the match and nearly stole the final set, but couldn’t hold on to the lead in the closing points of the third. “The first two sets I felt we were a bit nervous,” CSUN… Read more

After starting the Big West Conference season 3-0, the Matadors dropped their first league game, losing a close one to UC Davis, 55-53, Thursday night on the road. With the Aggies (10-6, 2-2) missing numerous free throws down the stretch, CSUN (8-8, 3-1), which is off to its best start in league play since the 2004-05 season, had plenty of chances to steal the game and improve to 4-0. However, Northridge could not come up with the game-tying or go-ahead… Read more

With CSUN head coach Bobby Braswell feeling under the weather, assistant coach Danny Sprinkle was in charge as his team faced an opponent who is on a seven-game losing streak. As both teams took the court and Pacific went on an 8-0 run with 13:17 left in the first half, it was clear the team the Matadors were facing weren’t playing like they had lost their last seven games. “I think offensively, it was just one of those nights for… Read more

Despite losing by 13 points at home Saturday night against arguably the best team in the Big West Conference, sophomore guard Josh Greene still believes his CSUN squad is the top team in the league. “I still think we’re the best,” a confident Greene said. “They’re (Long Beach State) predicted to win the Big West, not taking nothing away from them, but at the same time, I still have confidence in my team.” The Matadors kept it close versus the… Read more

For the third game in a row, the Matadors (8-7, 3-0 Big West) used lockdown defense to amend for their offensive struggles in a 57-50 victory over Long Beach State (7-9, 2-1) Saturday night at Walter Pyramid Arena. Despite scoring 57 points, CSUN held the 49ers to 34 percent shooting and caused them to turn the ball over 26 times, accumulating 12 steals (seven by freshman guard Ashlee Guay) and six blocks. “We all played extremely well,” CSUN sophomore guard… Read more