CSUSM Upsets Top-Seeded Gannon, Advances to NCAA Division II Final Four
3/25/2024 | Women’s Basketball
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The eighth-seeded Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (27-6) is moving on to the NCAA Division II Final Four after an 85-80 overtime win over top-seeded Gannon (35-3) on Monday night at St. Joseph Civic Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jordan Vasquez – 26 points | 11 rebounds | 10-of-13 FG
Charity Gallegos – 15 points | 5 assists | 2 steals
Ava Ranson – 15 points | 1 assist | 1 steal
Mina Tameilau – 14 points | 6 rebounds | 1 steal | 1 assist
Malia Mastora – 12 points | 4 blocked shots
Truitt Reilly – 10 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
A layup from Malia Mastora gave CSUSM a 13-8 lead in the opening quarter at 4:39.
The Cougars trailed 17-15 to the Golden Knights at the end of the first quarter.
Gannon opened the second quarter on an 8-1 run to take a 25-16 lead.
The Golden Knights took a 32-22 lead on a made free throw by Samantha Pirosko at the 3:58 mark of the second quarter.
A long jumper by FitzGerald made it a four-point game at 35-31 with 2:07 remaining.
A last second, second-chance layup by Vasquez cut the lead to 39-35 at the break.
CSUSM shot 46.7% (14-of-30) in the opening half while Gannon turned in 43.8% (14-of-32).
The Cougars led in rebounding in the opening 20 minutes, 19-17.
A 3-pointer by McKel Nation gave Gannon a 47-35 lead at the 8:39 mark of the third quarter.
CSUSM closed the gap to 49-44 on a 3-pointer by Ava Ranson with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter.
Another second-chance bucket by Vasquez made it 51-48 at the 3:14 mark.
Vasquez followed it with a pair of made free throws to make it a one-point game at 51-50 at 2:49 of the third quarter.
CSUSM took its first lead of the second half at 56-55 on a pair of made free throws by Ranson with 39 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Gannon followed with a 3-pointer by Nation to make it 58-56 with 29 seconds on the clock.
After being fouled on a 3-pointer, Tameilau sunk all three free throws to put CSUSM back up 59-58.
Gannon’s Trinitee Harris missed both of her free throws with three seconds remaining, but Pirosko grabbed the offensive board and made the putback to make it 60-59 Golden Knights at the end of the third quarter.
A Ranson 3-pointer in the corner at 8:49 in the fourth quarter evened the game at 62-all.
A Mastora drive to the basket made it 69-67 Gannon with 4:16 remaining.
Two made free throws by Ranson evened the game at 69-all with three minutes remaining in the game.
A Mastora 3-pointer put CSUSM up 74-71 at 1:41 mark.
An old-fashion 3-point play by Bri Claxon evened the game at 74-all with 1:24 remaining.
Both teams were held scoreless the remaining of the fourth quarter, forcing overtime at 74-all.
The Golden Knights went up 76-74 on a pair of made free throws by Pirosko at 3:40 of overtime.
A second-chance layup by Gallegos tied the game once again at 76-all at 2:37.
CSUSM took its first lead of overtime with two made free throws by Tameilau to make it 78-76.
The Cougars added to their lead on Gallegos’ two made free throws at 1:25 to make it 80-76.
A 3-pointer by Mastora put CSUSM up 85-80 with six seconds remaining.
FAST BREAK
CSUSM will be making its NCAA Division II Final Four debut on Wednesday.
The Cougars shot 41.5% (27-of-65) from the field while holding Gannon to 37.0% (27-of-73).
Both teams connected on five 3-pointers in the contest.
CSUSM outrebounded Gannon, 51-41, with both teams collecting 13 offensive boards.
The Cougars went 26-of-29 (89.7%) at the free throw line while the Golden Knights were 21-of-28 (75%).
Vasquez collected her 22nd double-double of the season (26 pts, 10 reb.) and the 48th of her collegiate career.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will face the winner of Minnesota State and Georgia Southwestern at 6:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday, March 27 at St. Joseph Civic.
