The season has not been great for the Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team, as they are last in the Big West with a record of 1-9. However, tonight they will take a break from conference play when they face the University of Seattle at the Matadome.

The Matadors are currently on a five-game losing streak and could have a chance to snap the skid against a RedHawks team that has a record of 5-20.

Northridge has an overall record of 3-17 and have done their share of losing to teams that have a below .500 record. Nevertheless, they should have a chance to win because the Matadors can cause some matchup problems for the RedHawks.

First, the Matadors have size. They should be able to use players like centers Jasmine Erving, Neeta Sreekanth and forward Violet Alama. They will need to pound the ball on the inside and make sure they dominate the paint.

Not only use their size in the paint, but also use their size to dominate the boards.

“We have to rebound defensively,” CSUN head coach Staci Schulz.

Also, in order to win the Matadors need to play a whole game from start to finish against the Redhawks.

“We have to play 40 minutes of basketball,” Schulz said.

In their last two games the Matadors have especially struggled to put together complete games.

The Matadors were able to make runs against UC Riverside and Long Beach State, but they couldn’t finish either team off.

Lastly, the Matadors have to shut down Ashley Brown and Tatiana Heck. Brown is from Kirkland, Wash. and is averaging 14 points per game and five rebounds.

Heck, who is from Mountlake Terrace, Wash, is just coming off a tremendous game against South Dakota, where she finished the game with 15 points.

The Matadors will have to use their best defensive players to stop Brown and Heck or the game could slip away. Different defenders like point guard Amanda Thompson and forward Katrina Thompson will have to step their defense up.

Furthermore, if they execute their game plan and just play fundamental basketball, they should be fine.