LA JOLLA, Calif. – The top-seeded Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team came up just short against No. 2-seed UC San Diego, falling 73-62 in the championship game of the 2019-20 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Basketball Tournament Saturday night at RIMAC Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Dynnah Bucknner – 15 points | 4 rebounds
Akayla Hackson – 14 points | 4 rebounds
Chloe Eackles – 13 points | 5 rebounds | 1 blocked shot
Jon’Nae Vermillion – 9 points | 8 rebounds
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Akayla Hackson
Jon’Nae Vermillion
HOW IT HAPPENED •After a 2-2 start, the Tritons went on a 7-0 run before a second-chance layup by Vermillion made it 9-4 with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter.
•At the end of the first quarter, CSUSM trailed 20-14 after UCSD shot 60.0% (9-of-15) to the Cougars’ 40.0% (6-of-15).
•A put-back by Emma Forel cut CSUSM’s deficit to 31-27 at the halftime break.
•Both teams shot just under 40.0% from the field in the first half with UCSD getting 20 points in the paint to CSUSM’s 12.
•A Hackson layup and a free throw made it a 43-36 ballgame with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter.
•A 3-pointer by Julia Macabuhay with 1:01 remaining in the third quarter gave UCSD a 50-40 lead.
•CSUSM cut UCSD’s lead to eight points (65-57) on a 3-pointer by Hackson with 4:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
•The Triton’s answered with an 8-0 run at the hands of Macaburhay to put the game out of reach.
FAST BREAKS •The Cougars fall to 25-5 while UC San Diego improves to 25-5 on the season.
•CSUSM saw its program-record 11-game win streak snapped.
•This marks the Cougars’ first appearance in the tournament finale after exiting last year’s tournament in the semifinals to UCSD.
•The Tritons scored 22 points off CSUSM’s 16 turnovers while CSUSM notched just six points from UCSD’s 10 turnovers.
•Vermillion narrowly missed out on a double-double, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.
•UCSD never trailed in the game, leading for 39:25.
•CSUSM shot 39.0% (23-of-39) from the field while UCSD turned in a 46.2% (30-of-65) performance.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will now wait for the NCAA Division II Selection Show where the 64-team field will be unveiled live on NCAA.com at 7 p.m. (PT) tomorrow. In the latest NCAA West Regional Poll, CSUSM was ranked No. 3 behind No. 1 Hawaii Pacific and No. 2 Alaska Anchorage. The top eight teams in the final regional poll will advance.
