Roseburg, Ore. – The Titans comeback fell short after battling back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit in a 74-68 road loss to No. 1 Umpqua.
How it happened:
First quarter: It was a back-and-forth quarter with the game being tied at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. After tying the game at 10 with 2:37 remaining, the Titans were unable to score. The defense only allowed two more points and only trailed 12-10.
The Titans struggled shooting at 30.8 percent but held Umpqua to 30 percent shooting. The difference was seven fewer shot attempts for the Titans. Kalina Rojas led the Titans with four points and added five rebounds while playing the entire quarter.
Second quarter: A competitive previous quarter leaked into the start of the quarter with ties at 12 and 14 in the first minute. At the 8:34 mark Umpqua started a 10-0 run that would provide them a 10-point lead with 6:41 remaining. From the 6:41 mark on, there were no points scored by either team for four minutes until Maddie Bertsch's basket ended a 6:24 scoreless run for the Titans. Down 10 with less than 90 seconds remaining in the half, Hailey Stevens made a three that sparked a 7-2 Titans run that cut their deficit to five, 30-25, at the half.
The second was much like the first for the Titans, struggling to a 33.3 percent shooting mark while holding Umpqua to 36.8 percent shooting. Aolani Talamaivao-Calderon had four points, a rebound and a steal while Maddie Bertsch had six points off the bench in four minutes.
Third quarter: The Titans conceded the first five points and it took them 2:32 to get on the board. A 5-0 run, including three points from Maddie Bertsch, to the 5:22 mark cut the deficit to five, but an 8-2 Umpqua run over the next 2:19 made it a double-digit deficit again, 45-34. A 7-2 Titan run made it a two-possession game, 47-41, with 1:26 left in the third before an Umpqua basket with six seconds remaining made it an eight-point game heading to the final quarter.
The Titans shooting improved significantly to 53.8 percent, but four fewer shots cost them three more points. Kalina Rojas bounced back four six points and Mia Morey added five points off the bench.
Fourth quarter: The quarter started very slowly for the Titans, starting 0-4 from the field. After Mia Morey made a free throw and Megan Fossen put back the other missed free throw for three quick points, Umpqua countered with a 9-3 run, which included their largest lead of 14 points, over the next 2:52 and led by 13, 50-47, with 4:31 remaining.
The Titans would put together one final run of 14-5 to reduce the gap to four, 65-61, with 39 seconds left. Kendra McAninch made two free throws with 29 seconds left to keep the deficit at four points, but a 7-8 mark at the free throw line by Umpqua killed the Titans final chances.
After averaging 13.7 points in the previous three quarters, the Titans got 27 in the final quarter, but allowed 22 free throw attempts. 16 of Umpqua's 25 points came from the line. Kendra McAninch had her best quarter with nine points, two rebounds and two assists. Sophomore's Megan Fossen and Hailey Stevens stepped up with eight points and five points respectively.
What stood out:
68 points: The Titans are 4-3 when scoring fewer than 70 points … 35 rebounds: The Titans are 3-4 when recording fewer than 40 rebounds … 20 fouls: The Titans have lost three of last four when committing 20 or more fouls.
Who stood out:
Kalina Rojas: She picked up her 18th double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds … Megan Fossen: Had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal … Maddie Bertsch: Scored nine points off the bench in 16 minutes … Mia Morey: Had six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
What it means:
The Titans fall to a tie for third place with Mt. Hood. The Titans are .5 game behind Clackamas for second and three games behind Umpqua.
What's next:
The No. 3 Titans (18-5, 7-3) host No. 4 Clackamas (18-3, 8-2) on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. with the opportunity to sweep the season series, move into second place and hold the tie breaker if the Titans and Cougars were to finish with same record.