CSUN (1-9) opens Big West play this week with a pair of home games against Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton.

The Matadors host the Mustangs Thursday at 7 p.m. before welcoming the Titans to Premier America Credit Union Arena on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Jill Painter Lopez will have the call on both games on ESPN+ with all links on GoMatadors.com.

ABOUT CAL POLY

The Mustangs had their final two non-conference games at Seattle U, and Montana State canceled due to Health and Safety Protocols within the Cal Poly program.

The Mustangs bring a 3-5 mark to Northridge under first-year head coach Shanele Stires. Annikah Shah leads the team in scoring (11.8) and assists (24).

Cal Poly is one of CSUN’s oldest rivals. Dating back to the start of the series in 1975, the teams have played 83 times, with the Matadors leading the all-time series 43-40.

ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON

The Titans went 5-4 during the non-conference season. Cal State Fullerton is at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday before heading to Northridge.

Una Jovanovic and Fujika Nimmo are tied for second in the Big West in scoring (15.3). Ashlee Lewis is third in the league in rebounding (7.4).

Saturday will be the 60th time CSUN and the Titans are playing women’s basketball, with Cal State Fullerton leading the all-time series 30-29.

JACKSON WITH A CHANCE AT 1,000

CSUN guard Jordyn Jackson can score 1,000 career points this season for the Matadors.

Jackson scored 18 points against LMU on Dec. 21. She currently has 892 career points. If Jackson reaches 1,000, she will become the 14th Matador women’s basketball player to score 1,000 points in a CSUN career.

Jackson has been successful at the free throw line this season. Entering Big West play, she is shooting 86.7% (39-of-45) from the charity stripe, which has her ranked 59th in Division I. Her 39 made free throws are the 138th most in Division I as of Dec. 23. She has made 28 in a row from the free throw line dating back to the Dec. 17 game against Santa Clara.

Returning to the San Diego game on Dec. 6, Jackson, a guard, is shooting 57.8% from the field (26-45). Jackson has appeared in 100 games for CSUN, starting 74, including the last 59 in a row. The graduate student has moved to eighth in school history in made three-pointers with 103.

MAKING FREE THROWS

The Matadors went 20-of-21 from the free throw line (95.2%) against Sacramento State on Dec. 19. CSUN’s performance from the free throw line was the fourth-best by a Matadors’ squad in a Division I game.

CSUN made its first 15 free throws of the game against the Hornets. The Matadors are 64-of-69 from the free throw line over their past two games (versus Seattle U, Sac State, and LMU).  

As a team, the Matadors are 42nd in Division I in free throws made per game (14.8), 61st in free throw percentage (74.2), and 82nd in free throws attempted per game (19.5).

Individually, Tess Amundsen is the Big West leader in free throw shooting at 89.2% and is 38th in Division I.