SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 16/NR Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (9-1, 6-0 CCAA) kept its CCAA regular-season win streak alive at 23 games with a 66-65 victory over Cal State LA (6-6, 3-4 CCAA) on Sunday afternoon in The Sports Center.
TOP PERFORMERS
Mina Tameilau – 20 points | 5 rebounds | 2 assists
Dynnah Buckner – 16 points | 8 rebounds | 2 steals
Kate Carlson – 11 points | 10 rebounds
Charity Gallegos – 10 points | 4 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars took the first lead of the game at the 2:21 mark of the first quarter when Carlson fed the ball to Kayden Korst for a layup to make it 10-9.
CSUSM ended the opening quarter down 13-12 after shooting 21.4% (3-of-14) from the field to CSULA’s 31.3% (5-of-16).
The Golden Eagles took their largest lead of the game at the 7:24 mark of the second quarter when Nicole Flennaugh made three consecutive free throws after being fouled on a trey.
The Cougars retook the lead at 28-27 when Carlson grabbed a defensive rebound and dished it out to Tameilau, who scored on a fastbreak layup with 1:37 remaining.
CSUSM held a 30-29 lead at halftime after shooting 38.9% (7-of-18) from the field in the second quarter and going a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line in the first half.
Tameilau scored nine of her 20 points in the third quarter as the score was tied at 47-all with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The fourth quarter consisted of seven lead changes and five ties.
CSUSM went up by four (51-47) with 8:46 on the clock after Gallegos made both ends of her free throws.
CSULA answered back with back-to-back 3-pointers by Raya Smith and Yesenia Smith with 7:46 remaining.
Down 60-55 at 4:08, Carlson connected on a pair of free throw and Kelsey Forrester sunk her only 3-pointer of the game from the top of the key to even the game.
CSULA took a 65-64 lead after Lily Buggs scored off a turnover with 13 seconds remaining.
After drawing a foul on a drive, Dynnah Buckner saw her first free throw bounce around before dropping in to tie it at 65-all. Her second free throw was nothing but net with nine seconds on the clock.
CSUSM’s defense stopped the Golden Eagles from scoring in the final seconds.
FAST BREAKS
The Cougars began their conference regular-season win streak back on Dec. 9, 2021 with a 76-70 victory at Cal State Monterey Bay.
After tallying 10 3-pointers in their last meeting on Dec. 19 in Los Angeles, the Cougars were held to just two from behind the arc on Sunday.
The Cougars won the battle of the boards, outrebounding CSULA 44-36.
There were a total of 15 lead changes and 14 ties in the game.
CSUSM led for just 11:34 of the game while CSULA was on top for 21:42.
Carlson registered her second consecutive double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Tameilau’s 20 points were a season high and the second most in her career. While playing for Cal State East Bay last season, she tallied 30 points at CSULA.
CSUSM extended its win streak over the Golden Eagles to nine games
The Cougars are 6-0 against CSULA when playing in The Sports Center and 10-5 overall in the series.
One-third of CSUSM’s points came from the free throw line (22-of-27).
CSULA scored 18 of its points off CSUSM turnovers while the Cougars scored 15 points on fast breaks.
This is CSUSM’s first season sweep of 2022-23.
Listen to @JonathanRifkind’s interview with Head Coach Renee Jimenez after the Cougars’ 66-65 win over CSULA. #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/Aol7R4bB9M
– CSUSM Women’s Basketball (@CSUSM_WBB) January 2, 2023
UP NEXT
The Cougars will embark on a four-game road trip this week, starting with a 5:30 p.m. at Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, Jan. 5.
