Just walking into Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion brought about a wave of nostalgia – if it’s possible to be nostalgic about something that happened only ten months ago. For it was here that I went “live” with the first test event that ultimately led to the formation and international accreditation of the “It’s Game Time Somewhere” Tour.

That was a memorable evening, made more so by the LMU Lions’ upset of #9-ranked Gonzaga University. It was the first and only time that Gersten had ever played host to an LMU victory over a Top 10 team. A good omen, to say the least.

And now I was back, this time to watch the women’s team take on the Titans of Cal State Fullerton. The 5:00 start time should’ve tipped me off that this game was part of a double-header, and indeed when I arrived I found that my admission fee was good for the nightcap as well – a game in which the men’s team was to host Sacramento State.

Admission to a standalone women’s game at LMU is usually free, but since we were getting a two-fer on this night they had to charge something. So they split the difference…sort of. If I was willing to buy a General Admission ticket to the men’s game, I could have my pick of seats in the Reserved section for the women’s game. All for $10.

As I recall, it had cost me $15 to see that epic LMU vs. Gonzaga game in February (a price that turned out to be a tremendous bargain). So the way I saw it, on this night they paid me $5 to watch the women’s game. I bounced that concept off of my correspondent reporter for the evening, The C.O. He gave me a “blink, blink” and changed the topic. Perhaps this kind of financial logic might have something to do with the recent resignation of the IGTS Tour’s Chief Financial Officer.

I’m thinking that there must be a degree program at Loyola Marymount called something like Master of Sports Statistics. If you’re the type that likes to dig into the numbers as you’re watching a game, an LMU game at Gersten is your own little paradise.

During almost every break in play, a video board displays a slew of detailed, up-to-the-minute statistics. What’s more, there is actually a separate, dedicated “Hustle Stats” scoreboard which tracks each team’s rebounds, assists, steals and blocks – all proudly brought to you by the good folks at Tony P’s Dockside Grill.

Looking for more? The customized Lions Game Day program contains (among lots of other things) full team rosters, statistical leaders and more than 20 individual stats for each player on both teams. There was literally nothing that we could think to ask about each player that wasn’t available at a glance – albeit a glance that required 20/15 vision.

Me:  “How good a three-point shooter is #4?”

The C.O.:  “Well, it says here she’s attempted 46 this season and made 18, for a shooting percentage of .391. That’s in 245 minutes of play, which is an average of 30.6 minutes a game.”

Me:  “Her favorite breakfast cereal?”

The O.C.:  “Lemme see. That would be…Cocoa Pebbles.”

One particularly important nugget of information gleaned from the Lions Game Day program was that LMU was without its star player. Junior Alex Cowling (a Scorpio who’s fascinated by Genealogy) was leading the team in almost every statistical category, and was the nation’s eighth-leading scorer when she went down with a foot injury the prior week. As could be expected, the Lions had been struggling without her.

It was little surprise then, that the quick sharpshooters from Cal State Fullerton jumped out to a sizable early lead. Only by relentlessly attacking the boards did LMU weather the early storm and stay in the game. The Lions often had two or three shots per possession, in contrast to the Titans’ one-and-done. Then again, you only need one shot when you make most of them. While LMU scratched and clawed, Fullerton glided.

Despite a wide lead in Hustle Stats – and particularly in rebounding – the Lions trailed 38-31 at the half. And to be honest, that margin could have been much, much larger. Freshman Camille Buckley (dislikes lima beans and favors the color aquamarine) had contributed ten rebounds and nine points off the bench, and Candice Nichols (owns a rabbit named Mr. Nibbles) willed in eight points. The rest of the team? …5 for 29. Ouch.

In contrast, Fullerton’s shooting percentage from three-point range was almost twice as good as LMU’s total percentage. When you knock in 55% of your shots, as did the Titans, you don’t worry too much about rebounds.

One Fullerton player that drew our attention in particular was guard Lauren Chow. Listed as 5’4”, but probably closer to 4’5”, she wore a knee brace that was just about as long as her entire leg. And she was still one of the fastest players on the court.

But what gave us pause was that she was Asian. Obviously, the sports world is full of decorated female athletes of Asian ancestry, but neither The C.O. or I could think of a single prominent basketball player. But as we were talking that over, she busied herself with a first half that included tossing in four out of five shots (including two three-pointers), dishing out three assists, and snagging three rebounds.

When the second half started, we had to double-check to make sure the teams hadn’t switched uniforms. Fortunately, in small type on the back of the Lions Game Day program, there it was – “Percentage of games in which teams switched uniforms at halftime:  0%”. So evidently they just swapped specialties.

Cal State Fullerton had adopted the rebounding religion, while Loyola Marymount had discovered a shooting touch. The Lions had clanged every three-point shot it attempted in the first half, but led by Hazel Ramirez (an Origami enthusiast), they bombed in five of six from long range after the break.

The game quickly settled into a regular pattern whereby LMU would make a run at Fullerton, draw within two points, and then fade back to a larger deficit. On four different occasions coming down the stretch, the Lions had the ball and a good look at tying the game, but just couldn’t…quite…get… it…done.

With 18.4 seconds remaining, the world’s potentially most famous woman Asian basketball player stood at the foul line with an opportunity to extend Fullerton’s 2-point lead and make it a two-possession game. She missed the front end of a one-and-one though, putting into motion the following…

Cal State Fullerton had held the lead for all but 24 seconds of the entire game, but Candace Nichols’ heroics had pulled off the unlikeliest of victories for the Lions. Which made me two for two in thrilling come-from-behind LMU wins at Gersten Pavilion. What were the odds?

Not even the Lions Game Day program had that stat.

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