SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 15/RV Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (8-1, 5-0 CCAA) closed out 2022 undefeated in CCAA action with a 76-70 victory at Cal State LA (5-4, 3-2 CCAA) on Monday evening at University Gym.
TOP PERFORMERS
Kelsey Forrester – 22 points | 6 3FG | 2 rebounds
Dynnah Buckner – 14 points | 4 rebounds | 5-of-10 FG
Kate Carlson – 10 points | 13 rebounds
Jordan Vasquez – 11 points | 2 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars found themselves down 6-5 at the first media timeout at 4:51 of the opening quarter.
Forrester led all scorers with nine points following the first quarter as CSUSM led 19-12.
CSULA opened the second quarter with a seven-point run to even the game at 19-all on a layup by Raya Smith.
The Cougars closed out the first half with a 34-30 lead with CSUSM shooting 38.7% (12-of-31) from the field while CSULA clocked in at 42.9% (12-of-28).
CSUSM flourished from behind the 3-point line, going 6-of-13 (46.2%) while the Golden Eagles went just 2-of-4 (50%).
In the third quarter, a Dynnah Buckner 3-pointer from the corner gave CSUSM a double-digit lead at 44-34 with 6:20 on the clock.
The Golden Eagles closed the gap again to 48-44 on a pair of free throws by Tiara Scott with 3:32 on the clock in the third quarter.
The Cougars concluded the third quarter with a 57-49 lead after shooting 61.5% (8-of-13) from the field while holding CSULA to just 35.3% (6-of-17).
An old-fashion 3-point play by Charity Gallegos at the 2:53 mark of the fourth quarter gave CSUSM its largest lead of the game at 71-58.
The final three buckets of the game to make it 76-70 came from the charity stripe with four seconds after CSULA’s Nicole Flennaugh was fouled on a 3-pointer.
FAST BREAKS
The Cougars extended their conference regular-season win streak to 22 games that dates back to Dec. 9, 2021 with a 76-70 victory at Cal State Monterey Bay.
CSUSM reached double digits in 3-pointers with 10 for the third time this season.
Forrester’s six 3-pointers marks the 10th time a Cougar has achieved the milestone.
It is the third time in Forrester’s career that she has made six treys in one game with her first coming at Cal Poly Pomona on Dec. 19, 2019 and her second against Seattle Pacific on Nov. 19, 2021.
CSULA’s 70 points were the most by a CSUSM opponent this season.
CSUSM ended the game shooting 43.1% (25-of-58) from the field while LA came in at 41.7% (25-of-60).
The Cougars were 10-of-22 (45.5%) from beyond the arc as the Golden Eagles went just 2-of-6 (33.3%).
After turning in a 57.1% (4-of-7) performance at the free throw line in the opening half, the Cougars bounced back with 80% (12-of-15) in the second half.
CSUSM had a slight advantage in turnovers (15-16) while CSULA finished on top in rebounds (38-35).
The Cougars have now won eight consecutive games against CSULA and are 9-5 in the all-time series.
CSUSM’s six-point win was the second-smallest margin of victory in the series. The smallest was a triple-overtime 89-87 victory in LA on Dec. 29, 2018.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will face Cal State LA again on New Year’s Day in The Sport Center at 1 p.m.
