As conference play opened up for the Matadors’ women’s basketball team, CSUN (2-9, 0-1 Big West) took on Cal Poly (5-6, 1-0 Big West), the Matadors’ most familiar opponent. The teams have played 86 times, with CSUN’s all-time record against the Mustangs being 44-42.
Despite being neck-and-neck historically, the Matadors lost 68-43 Thursday night, due in large part to their poor performance on the glass.
The Matadors were outrebounded 51-24, which led to 12 second chance points for the Mustangs. In the first half, it seemed like every time Cal Poly put up a shot and missed, they either got a friendly bounce or dove on the ball and secured it before the Matadors could.
“We cannot win a game when the other team has 18 offensive rebounds, and 51 to our 24,” Head Coach Carlene Mitchell said. “There is no way we can win the game… and some of that is hustle, which is super disappointing, and then some of that is just playing physical, which we’re not matching people’s physicality at this point.”
Senior forward Natalia Ackerman, who’s second on the Mustangs in points per game, led the way with 15, nine rebounds and three blocks in only 20 minutes. Three others scored at least 12 points for Cal Poly, and 5’10” guard/forward Sydney Bourland grabbed 12 rebounds.
CSUN was short-handed heading into the match, with freshman Kaitlyn Elsholz, one of the Matadors’ best two-way players, sitting out due to illness, and 6’6” center Arina Nikishina unavailable as well. Because of the shortened rotation, players like redshirt junior Rachel Harvey and graduate student Olivia Smith played increased minutes.
“I think that Kait brings a huge presence on the court both defensively and offensively and we definitely missed that,” Smith said. “Arina was out today too, and it’s really hard missing your teammates. It’s just not easy to feel as a team, but I feel like for me, I have to step up because I want to play for them, so that makes it easier to fight for them during the game.”
Mitchell made many lineup changes, which included putting Harvey and 6’1” forward Laney Amundsen in the starting lineup for forward Kayanna Spriggs and guard Amiyah Ferguson.
Harvey and Smith made their presence felt on the defensive end, combining for five steals, while Amundsen struggled from the field as she went 0-6.
Amundsen was one of many Matadors struggling on the offensive end, a symptom of CSUN’s inability to control the boards.
“I think that when we’re playing defense for 25, 27 seconds and a shot goes up and they get an offensive rebound, that is where we struggle, and it’s really hard for us to get into our offense when we’re playing defense for a minute at a time,” Smith said. “So I think if we do get those rebounds, it’s going to be easier to get into our offense.”
The Matadors came out hot, with redshirt junior Ana Carolina de Jesus hitting two mid-range jumpers and a three-pointer to put CSUN up 7-2, but quickly tapered off as the Mustangs gained momentum.
CSUN only scored four points in the second quarter, and couldn’t connect on a shot in the first five minutes of the period.
Down 35-19 at halftime, the Matadors had a tall task ahead of them.
After falling behind as much as 22, CSUN made a late third-quarter push when their full-court press allowed them to force a couple turnovers and build momentum. Harvey scored, hustled back on defense, intercepted a pass and gave the ball to Ferguson for the easy lay-up. Ferguson then tried to put the Matadors on her back, burying back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to 11.
The freshman from South Carolina finished with 16 points on 4-7 shooting from downtown, but went 1-8 inside the arc and had five turnovers.
However, the Mustangs got six points back to end the third, and never looked back.
Along with the rebounding disparity, the Matadors went 17-53 from the field, a combination that ultimately led to their demise.
“I think we’re getting the right shots,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes, we’re settling for jumpers instead of attacking and getting all the way to the rim, but, you know, you look at Laney, who struggled shooting it tonight, and some other players, like Erica Adams, it’s just good shots, so they gotta make them, and if not, then they got to find a way to attack and get to the free throw line.”
CSUN has now lost nine straight, and will look to end the year on a positive note as they take on Long Beach State Saturday to wrap up their four-game homestand.
