The Matadors have continued where they left off last season, tallying the loss column and staying in last place in the standings.
The women’s basketball team has struggled greatly, winning only one of their last nine games over the winter break.
Northridge was routed against the Cal Poly Mustangs on Jan. 22 in a Big West Conference match. The Matadors dropped their sixth game in a row while recording a season-high 29 turnovers.
The Matadors managed to turn the ball over 20 times in the first half. The Mustangs were already up big going into halftime with a 38-20 lead over CSUN, who only made seven-of-23 from the field.
CSUN, which sits in ninth place after the 82-52 loss against Cal Poly, looks to hold down the fort hosting the next three games.
During the winter break, Northridge captured its lone victory in dramatic fashion in an overtime thriller against Pacific on the road, winning 74-68. The game was knotted up coming down to the last minutes when the Tigers pushed the game into overtime. But it was the clutch play of the Matadors, who knocked down free throws that gave them the win.
It has been a hard season thus far for the Matadors (1-18, 1-6 Big West) and the bright spots for the team right now are junior Jasmine Erving, sophomore Violet Alama and freshman Haley White. Erving is having a record setting year, moving up to eighth place in school history with 366 career points.
Since conference play began, Erving has been stellar with her production steadily increasing. She is averaging 14 points per game and 7 rebounds per game, both career-highs. Erving has recorded double-doubles in three games against league opponents this year.
She also has the most points scored in a game in the conference this year with 34 against Cal State Fullerton, a career-high. Erving was spectacular against Fullerton, but the team lost a close one, 75-67. In Big West competition, she is the leading scorer with 21.4 points per game and second in rebounding with 11.2 rebounds per contest.
Sophomore Violet Alama has shown the threat she can be for the Matadors, averaging 11.3 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game. This season, she also has had a career-high game with 32 points against Eastern Michigan, just two points away from Erving’s season-best this year.
Freshman Haley White has played incredibly this year in facilitating the ball for the Matadors. White had season-high 10 assists against Pacific. Haley has over 60 assists this year and team-high 27 steals.
So far the team has struggled to pull off victories in league play, The Matadors has been in a scoring slump as they had only one game in which they scored over 60 points in their last six. CSUN managed to lead only one stat against their opponents this year, and it’s in turnovers, averaging almost 20 per game.
But the record doesn’t indicate all the hard work they have put into the season. As a team, Northridge ranks second in conference in free throws, making over 70 percent of them.
The Matadors look to salvage the season with seven of the next 11 games coming at home.
