The CSUN women’s basketball continued their losing streak as they fell on the road to the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs, 66-62, on Thursday night.
The loss is the Matadors eighth in a row and it drops them to 2-16 on the season. Their last victory was on Dec. 18 against the University of Portland.
After trailing for most of the game, but staying within striking distance, the Matadors pulled ahead, 56-55, off a three point shot by sophomore guard Katelin King with 47 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Matadors were able to get a defensive stop and sophomore guard Serafina Maulupe was fouled with 17 seconds left in the game. She would hit one out of two free throws to give the Matadors a 57-55 lead.
Following another good defensive possession for the Matadors, freshman center Channon Fluker would split a pair of free throws after being fouled, putting them up 58-55 with four seconds left.
Unable to get one final defensive stop, the Matadors gave up a three pointer to Mustang senior guard Beth Balbierz as time expired sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Matadors were as close as one point behind, but were unable to get over the hump as they went down in defeat.
The Matadors were led by Maulupe who scored 16 points albeit on 31.3 percent shooting, pulled down seven rebounds, and dished out three assists. Junior guard Emily Cole added 12 points on 50 percent shooting to go along with three rebounds and three assists.
Leading the way for the Mustangs was junior forward Hannah Gilbert who scored 24 points on 48 percent shooting to go along with seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Sophomore guard Lynn Leaupepe chipped in with 15 points on 36.4 percent shooting, nine rebounds and four steals.
While the Matadors defense overall was solid, holding the Mustangs to only 35.3 percent shooting, it was their inability to contain the Mustangs from behind the arc that made the difference in the game.
The Matadors allowed the Mustangs to shoot 45.5 percent from the three point line, including the shot that sent to game to overtime.
The Matadors will return home on Saturday, Jan. 23 against the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
