Titans show resilience in the wake of tragedy

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Alex Thomas and Mya Olivier during a quarterfinal game of the Big West Tournament at the UC Irvine Bren Center.

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DARRELL MIHO / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
The Wahine's Shawna-Lei Kuehu takes a shot against Cal State's Lauren Bushong and Annie Park during a quarterfinal game of the Big West Tournament at the UC Irvine Bren Center.

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DARRELL MIHO / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
The Rainbow Wahine's Sydney Haydel dives for a loose ball against Cal State Fullerton's Titan Alex Thomas during a quarterfinal game of the Big West Tournament at the UC Irvine Bren Center. Cal State Fullerton won 66-51.

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IRVINE, Calif. »By defeating Hawaii on Wednesday, Cal State Fullerton continues to use the Big West Conference women’s basketball tournament to demonstrate resilience in confronting unexpected tragedy.

Irrevocably marking this season is the murder of assistant coach Monica Quan and her fiance on Feb. 3. The murderer, Christopher Dorner, killed two more people before dying in a shootout with police and a subsequent fire on Feb. 13.

"You know how much this means to us at this time," Titans coach Marcia Foster said of the 66-51 win. "It’s one of the moments that we’ll never forget."

Eighth-seeded Fullerton began the tournament Tuesday night by defeating fifth-seeded Long Beach State. That victory ended a stretch in which the Titans lost 12 of their final 14 regular-season games, including nine in succession.

Quan was murdered one night after Fullerton lost the fifth consecutive game of that streak.

"The depth of sorrow initially was so heavy," Foster said. "It was just hard to function. The first week, I don’t know if many players went to class or did anything.

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"But we just had so much support, and I think they relied heavily on one another. We’ve just bonded."

The Titans channeled their mourning into dedication. The players not only wear a patch with "MQ" on the front of their jerseys, they wear long-sleeved orange warm-up shirts brandishing several messages.

Blazoned across the front is the word, "MOtivation," the capital letters referring to Quan’s nickname. On the right sleeve, "MQ" appears in interlocking script. The back features a quote from Winston Churchill: "It’s the courage to continue that counts."

"The first two weeks were pretty hard," guard Chante Miles said. "But we knew we had to keep working, keep working together. Life doesn’t stop. Our season doesn’t stop."

The Titans’ play reflects that determination.

"We definitely keep it in our hearts to keep playing hard for her," forward Mya Olivier said. "Knowing her passion for the game, we keep that passion going as our motivation."

As a result, Fullerton will make its first semifinal appearance since 2007 on Friday against top-seeded Pacific. With a victory, the Titans would play for their first Big West women’s tournament championship in school history.

"There’s not a better way to honor Monica than to play our best," Foster said. "If we win because we play our best, then that’s a bonus. If Hawaii beat us but we played our best, we could walk away knowing that we honored ourselves and we honored her."

Miles even finds joy in the midst of mourning.

"We’re doing what we love to do," Miles said, "and I think Monica, our coach, would love to see us do what we do."