Fullerton, CA—The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team found itself in a defensive slugfest to open Big West play Thursday evening, but it was the Titans who came away with the 58-49 victory.

For the second straight game, the Highlanders (9-6, 0-1) were without the services of their second and third leading scorers in Simone DeCoud and Annelise Ito who are averaging a combined 24.7 points per game on the year. UCR could have used their offensive contributions early as Cal State Fullerton held the Highlanders to 19 points in the first half on 23.5 percent from the field. 

The Titans (7-7, 1-0) keyed on Brittany Crain, the seventh leading scorer in the nation holding her to seven first half points on 2 of 11 shooting from the floor. Michelle Curry tried to pick up the pace with eight points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes, but the rest of the team shot a combined 2 of 12.

Cal State Fullerton led by as many as 21 points early in the second half, but UC Riverside began to chip away at the lead thanks to a renewed effort on the defensive side of the ball. The Titans made just 26.9 percent of their shots from the field in the second half including one of 14 from beyond the arc.

An 8-0 run that ended with a pair of Akilah Martin free throws with 4:02 remaining brought the Highlanders to within nine, but that was as close as the Highlanders would get.

Crain finished with a game-high 18 points while Curry added 12. Fullerton's Chante Miles tied for game-high scoring honors with 18, and Samantha Logan grabbed 17 rebounds in the win.

UC Riverside returns home this Saturday to take on UC Irvine. Tip at the SRC Arena is slated for 5 pm PT.