Titans Give Curry a Victory in Her Head Coaching Debut

Denise Curry had plenty of victories as a player during an outstanding college career at UCLA, then with the Olympic team and later playing professionally in Europe.

But Friday night in Titan Gym, she got a victory she will likely remember for a while--her first as a college head coach.

Curry’s Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team rallied in the final three minutes for a nine-point lead with less than a minute to play, but then had to battle to the wire to defeat Nevada Las Vegas, 66-62, in the season opener for both teams.

“We got a win and that’s what really matters,” Curry said. “We won’t remember a couple of weeks from now that we almost gave it away. Hopefully two weeks from now, we’ll be a better basketball team too.”

UNLV’s Taneisha Gossett scored seven points in 20 seconds to turn it back into a game in the final minute, but Fullerton held off the challenge with timely defense and three free throws by guard Andrea Thieme.

Thieme finished with a game-high 21 points, making seven of 14 shots from the floor. Fullerton had three other players in double figures. Kris Sigg had 16, center Erin Whiteside 12 and Justine McMahan 11. Gossett led the Rebels with 17.

“It was was a good defensive effort at the end, and I was pleased about that,” Curry said. “From what I understand, [Fullerton] lost some close games at the end last year, so the returning players will remember this one. The kids found a way to win, and that’s the important thing. Kids find the way to do it, not coaches.”

The Titans shot 46.5% from the field compared to 38.7% for UNLV, but Fullerton won it at the free-throw line. The Titans, who had only 10 fouls to 26 for UNLV, made 25 of 36 free throws. UNLV had only 11 chances at the line, and made only two.

Neither team could gain much of an advantage until the Titans went on a nine-point run late in the game. A steal and a layup by Sigg and Whiteside’s three-point play with 1:22 left were the big plays.

“I thought Whiteside played very well in the second half after we brought her back into the game,” Curry said.

Whiteside had eight rebounds and Nashira Shaw had a team-leading 10 to help the Titans to a 41-37 rebounding advantage.

“We panicked a little bit there at the end, but we still managed to win,” said McMahan, who was a regular last season.

McMahan said Curry was a steadying influence on the bench when the Titans were starting to come unglued. “She kept telling us to play hard and value the basketball,” McMahan said. “We stayed positive.”

And Curry was relieved it turned out the way it did.

“I would have liked it more if we had played better,” she said. “But with a new system and new coaches, it’s important just to win.”