The Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team is coming off a huge win against former Big West standings leader Cal State Fullerton and are now about to face another great team in the Conference, Cal Poly. The Matadors will face the Mustangs at the Matadome Saturday afternoon.
The Matadors are flying high after beating up on Cal State Fullerton 66-53 last Saturday. They held Fullerton to 10.5 percent in the second period, which helped them come back from a 14-point deficit to win the game.
Furthermore, the Matadors are not finished. They think they can come up with the same type of energy and get a victory against the Mustangs.
“We are motivated and are firing on all pistons, not only the players but the staff,” CSUN head coach Staci Schulz said.“We came back after having a couple days off and learned a new variation of the offense, so we could have something new to throw at the opposing team.”
However, this game against the mighty Mustangs might be a little tougher. Cal Poly has a good idea of what the Matadors can do after hearing about what they did against Fullerton, so they will probably come out even more prepared.
If the Mustangs grab a 14-point lead they will not lose it. Fullerton grabbed the lead and probably put it on cruise control because they were playing a last place team. Cal Poly will be ready to start the game and finish the game, so the Matadors can’t afford to fall behind early.
Also, they will be facing one of the best players in the Big West Conference. Junior forward Kristina Santiago from Santa Maria, Calif. just came off being named Conference Player of the week, which is her second consecutive award.
She is also the ninth player in Cal Poly women’s history to score 1,000 career points. Her state line is amazing. Santiago is averaging 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds. The last game she played saw her put up 34 points.
However, the Matadors should be able to stop her and the Mustangs if they complete two tasks. They need to continue to let their defense lead to their offence and get help from their bench.
The Matadors can’t have Katrina Thompson and Bridgette Conejo play all 40 minutes. The bench will have to play a bigger part so their stars can get rest.
The Matadors will have a dog fight on their hands, but they should be fine if they complete those two tasks.
Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Matadome.
