TURLOCK, Calif. – For the second consecutive game, the No. 19/NR Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (4-1, 1-0 CCAA) held off a late rally to collect a victory as the Cougars opened CCAA play with a 70-59 win against Stanislaus State (3-4, 0-2 CCAA) on Thursday night at Fitzpatrick Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Kelsey Forrester – 16 points | 4-of-8 3FG | 4-of-4 FT | 3 assists
Mina Tameilau – 12 points | 5-of-10 FG | 8 rebounds | 1 blocked shot
Charity Gallegos – 11 points | 4-of-4 FT | 3 assists
Dynnah Buckner – 8 points | 11 rebounds
Jordan Vasquez – 7 points | 10 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tameilau carried the Cougars early, scoring the first four points for CSUSM before Forrester sunk a 3-pointer from the corner to spark a 12-0 run to take a 16-4 lead with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
CSUSM closed out the opening quarter with a 21-8 lead after shooting 66.7% (6-of-9) from the field and going 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
After a slow start in the second quarter, CSUSM finished with a 14-2 run to take a 39-17 lead into the halftime break. Despite going 2-of-11 from the 3-point line, the Cougars were able to outscore the Warriors 18-9.
Forrester led all scorers in the first half, knocking down three 3-pointers and going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe while Tameilau contributed 10 points.
The Warriors outscored CSUSM 25-16 in the third quarter to cut the Cougars’ lead to 13 points (55-42). The deciding stats were offensive boards with Stan State leading 6-1 while CSUSM committed seven turnovers to the Warriors’ zero.
Stan State made it a single-digit game at 55-49 on a Makayla Rose 3-pointer at the 7:46 mark of the fourth quarter.
The closest the Warriors got was on a 3-pointer by Alexis Woodson to make it 57-52 with 6:49 remaining in the game.
In the final minute of play, CSUSM went 8-of-8 at the free throw line to hold off the charging Warriors.
FAST BREAKS
CSUSM extended its conference win streak to 18 games, which began on Dec. 9, 2021 with a 76-70 victory at Cal State Monterey Bay.
The Cougars shot 76.7% (23-of-30) from the free throw line while the Warriors turned in a 50.0 free-throw percentage (11-of-22).
CSUSM concluded the game shooting 42.6% (20-of-47) from the field while Stan State finished at 33.3% (22-of-66).
The Cougars won the battle of the boards 42-37, but the Warriors had the advantage on the offensive side at 20-14.
CSUSM’s 20 turnovers were a season high while Stan State only tallied 10 in the game.
Twelve of Forrester’s team-leading 16 points came from behind the 3-point line while the other four came at the charity stripe.
Forrester has led CSUSM in scoring in three of its five games this season.
This was only CSUSM’s second win over the Warriors on the road and are now 5-6 in the all-time series against Stan State.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will wrap up their five-game road trip on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Chico State at 1 p.m.
