SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 18/20 Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (12-2, 9-1 CCAA) returns home for four consecutive games beginning on Thursday with a matchup against Cal State East Bay (8-6, 5-5 CCAA) at 5:30 p.m. before taking on undefeated No. 14/10 Cal State Dominguez Hills (16-0, 10-0 CCAA) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
CSUSM posted a perfect 2-0 weekend on the road with a 62-50 win at Sonoma State on Thursday and a 70-68 thriller at Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday.
Kelsey Forrester became the CSUSM 3-point leader at Sonoma State after sinking her 191st in the first half, passing Cassie Damyanovich (2011-15).
Dynnah Buckner became a member of CSUSM’s 1,000 point club on Saturday. She joined Cassie Damyanovich (2011-15), Akayla Hackson (2017-22), Savannah Camp (2015-18) and Heather Thompson (2011-15).
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS
The WBCA will not be publishing a new NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll this week therefore the Cougars will remain at No. 23 for this week’s games.
CSUSM moved up to No. 20 in the D2SIDA Top 25 Poll while taking sole possession of the No. 3 spot in the D2SIDA West Regional Poll.
CSUSM remains in the No. 2 spot in the CCAA standings with a 9-1 record behind CSUDH, who is still undefeated in conference at 10-0.
CSUSM is the top ball-handling team in the CCAA, ranking 22nd in turnovers per game (13.4) and 47th in assist/turnover ratio (0.99) in the nation.
The Cougars moved up to the No. 1 position in the CCAA in free throw percentage at 77.2% (186-of-241) and rank 19th in the nation.
CSUSM is committing the second-fewest fouls in the CCAA at 15.5 per game.
Four Cougars are in the top 11 in the CCAA in assist/turnover ratio with Deannah Buckner coming in at No. 2 at 2.00, followed by Kate Carlson at No. 5 (1.93), Charity Gallegos at No. 7 (1.78) and Kayden Korst taking the No. 11 spot (1.56).
Kelsey Forrester is the CCAA 3-point field-goal percentage leader at 42.2.
With 196 3-pointers, Forrester is the CSUSM 3-point career leader and now has her eyes set on the CCAA record of 226 held by Chico State’s Maddy Wong’s (2016-20).
GAME 15 | CAL STATE EAST BAY
Date Thursday, Jan.19, 2023
Time 5:30 p.m.
Location San Marcos, Calif.
Venue The Sports Center
Records CSUSM (12-2, 9-1 CCAA)
CSUEB (8-6, 5-5 CCAA)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
Tickets HomeTown Ticketing
THURSDAY AGAINST THE PIONEERS
The Cougars last faced the Pioneers in the 2022 CCAA Tournament final, falling 80-66 on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata.
CSUSM and CSUEB split last season’s series with the road team being victorious in each instance.
The lone CCAA regular-season loss (64-56) the Cougars had in 2021-22 came by the hands of the Pioneers in The Sports Center on Dec. 4.
CSUSM is 6-8 in the all-time series against the Pioneers and are 2-4 when playing at home.
The Pioneers are tied for sixth with Sonoma State in the CCAA standings with a 5-5 conference record.
Last weekend was the first time CSUEB has won back-to-back conference games this season, defeating San Francisco State 84-62 on Thursday before taking down Cal State Monterey Bay 66-46 on Saturday.
CSUEB ranks last in the CCAA in 3-point percentage (25.6) but leads the CCAA and ranks seventh in the nation in 3-point percentage defense (24.1).
The Pioneers have the third-best field-goal percentage defense in Division II, holding opponents to 33.3%.
CSUEB has the highest turnovers per game average in the conference, averaging 20.4 per game.
Three Pioneers are averaging double figures with Jaela Richardson leading the way at 12.5 points per game, followed by Delia Moore (12.0) and Grace Campbell (11.9).
CSUEB was picked to finish sixth in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
GAME 16 | CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS
Date Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023
Time 1 p.m.
Location San Marcos, Calif.
Venue The Sports Center
Records CSUSM (12-2, 9-1 CCAA)
CSUDH (16-0, 10-0 CCAA)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
Tickets HomeTown Ticketing
SHOWDOWN BETWEEN NO. 1 & NO. 2
Prior to Saturday’s game, the Toros will face their cross-county foe Cal State LA on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
The Cougars are in the midst of a five-game win streak over CSUDH with their smallest margin of victory against the Toros coming last season in The Sports Center with CSUSM coming out victorious at 71-65.
CSUSM is 6-8 in the all-time series against CSUDH and 4-3 when playing at home.
With a 10-0 conference record, the Toros sit on top of the CCAA standings with a one-game lead over the Cougars.
Prior to the 2022-23 season, CSUDH had never appeared in the WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, which started in 1996-97. In 1985, the Toros reached No. 18 three times in the NCAA national rankings.
The smallest margin of victory the Toros have had this season so far was eight points (73-65) against Cal State East Bay on Jan. 1.
CSUDH is one of three teams that are still undefeated this season as No. 1/1 Ashland is 18-0 and No. 5/1 Central Missouri is 15-0.
The Toros lead the CCAA in 12 categories including rebounds per game (45.12), free throws made per game (15.56), scoring offense (78.9), scoring defense (57.2), assists per game (14.4) and steals per game (12.8).
CSUDH is defeating its opponents by an average of 21.7 points, ranking the Toros sixth in the nation.
The Toros are 10th in the CCAA (258th in the nation) in free throw percentage at 62.9%.
Dawnyel Lair is leading CSUDH with 14.3 points per game and 3.42 steals per game. She is shooting 63.1% from the field (6th in the nation).
The Toros were picked to finish third in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
CONFERENCE FAVORITE
CSUSM was picked to finish first once again in the 2022-23 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Cougars will start the new season ranked No. 12 in the WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and No. 18 in the D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll.
Nine Cougars return for the 2022-23 season including All-CCAA first teamers Jordan Vasquez and Dynnah Buckner as well as second-team selection Kelsey Forrester.
CSUSM adds three transfer, including sophomore Charity Gallegos (Chico State), redshirt junior Mina Tameilau (Cal State East Bay) and redshirt sophomore Malia Mastora (Seattle Pacific).
Beginning their collegiate campaign in Cougar Blue this season are freshmen Tatum Tamashiro and Alina Tran.
THE JIMENEZ FILE
Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her eighth season in charge of the Cougar women’s basketball team, a program that is only in its twelfth season of existence.
In 2021-22, Jimenez earned her third career and second consecutive CCAA Coach of the Year honor. She previously earned the award as the head coach at Cal State Monterey Bay during the 2010-11 season.
With Jimenez at the helm, the Cougars clinched their second consecutive CCAA Regular-Season Championship
After CSUSM’s 2019-20 inaugural NCAA Division II West Regional appearance was cut short due to COVID-19, the Cougars were finally able to make their debut in the national tournament in 2021-22 as the No. 4 seed.
The Cougars have advanced to the CCAA Tournament three times, making it to the semifinals in 2018-19 followed by back-to-back finals appearance in 2019-20 and 2021-22.
Jimenez has compiled a 230-140 (.622) in her 14 seasons coaching in the CCAA, spending two seasons at Cal State San Bernardino after a five-year stint at Cal State Monterey Bay.
In her seven seasons at CSUSM, Jimenez has tallied a record of 105-69 (.603).
