FULLERTON – Cal State LA's women's basketball team put in a competitive performance Thursday in its first exhibition game of the 2015-16 season.
 
The Golden Eagles led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter before Cal State Fullerton rallied and pulled out a narrow 60-58 victory in Titan Gym. Cal State LA was playing its first of two exhibition games against NCAA Division I competition. The Golden Eagles will face Boise State in another exhibition game on Nov. 13.
 
The Golden Eagles and Titans experienced the new collegiate format for women's basketball on Thursday. Instead of two 20-minute halves, the women's game now consists of four 10-minute quarters.
 
Chiara DiMarco had 13 points for the Golden Eagles, while Franeka Hall had eight oints and six rebounds and Kiah Knox added eight points and two rebounds. The Golden Eagles had good balance as 11 players scored in the contest and 12 saw game action.
 
"We played pretty well," Cal State LA head coach Carter Shaw said. "We told the team it was a growth game for us. We feel like we are further ahead of where we were last year at this time and this was a good opportunity for us to grow and get better."
 
Michelle Berry had a game-high 23 points for Cal State Fullerton and was key during a game-turning 11-0 run for the Titans that turned a 47-42 deficit into a 53-47 lead. Karima Gabriel had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Dani Craig had 10 points.
 
Geena Greene had a team-high seven rebounds for the Golden Eagles, while Kaija Powell had seven points, three rebounds and a team-high five assists.
 
Cal State LA shot 30.2 percent for the game (19-of-63) and made 9-of-33 attempts from 3-point range (27.3 percent). The Golden Eagles were 11-of-15 from the free-throw line.
 
Cal State Fullerton shot 32.8 percent (20-of-61) and was 4-of-21 from 3-point range. The Titans were 16-of-30 from the free-throw line.
 
Cal State Fullerton had a 49-39 rebounding edge and had 16 turnovers to 20 for Cal State LA. The Golden Eagles had seven steals, including two each from DiMarco and Powell.
 
A 3-pointer by Orlich gave the Golden Eagles a 43-33 lead with 4:33 remaining in the third quarter, but the Titans were able to close to within 47-45 by the end of the third quarter.
 
The Titans then took a 53-47 lead with 2:44 to go, but the Golden Eagles battled back and a three-point play by DiMarco made it 54-52 with 1:33 to go. The Titans responded with a 3-pointer by Craig and, after Powell and Gabriel traded baskets, the Golden Eagles got back-to-back baskets from Rikke Fabricius and Knox to pull to within 59-58 with 11 seconds to go. Samantha Logan made one of two free throws to account for the final point of the game and the Golden Eagles missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.