LA JOLLA, Calif. – The top-seeded Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team punched its ticket for the first time in program history to the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament Final after recording a 77-69 victory over No. 5-seed Cal State East Bay on Friday night at RIMAC Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Akayla Hackson – 26 points | 4-of-7 3PG | 12-of-13 FT | 2 steals
Stephanie Custodio – 16 points | 5 assists | 4 rebounds
Jon’Nae Vermillion – 15 points | 8 rebounds | 6-of-12 FT | 2 blocked shots
HOW IT HAPPENED •The Cougars trailed East Bay 17-12 at the end of the first quarter.
•East Bay took its biggest lead of the first half at 27-17 when Regina Sankey made the backend of her two free throws at the 7:13 mark of the second quarter.
•The Cougars cut their deficit to three points (33-30) on Vermillion’s turn-around jump shot off the backboard with 1:52 remaining in the second quarter.
•The Pioneers shot 51.6% (16-of-31) from the field in the first half to take a 37-30 lead at the break.
•Twenty-four of CSUEB’s 37 points in the first half came from the bench.
•After being fouled on a 3-pointer, Hackson connected on all three of her free throws to cut CSUSM’s deficit to 41-37 with 6:52 remaining in the third quarter.
•A Hackson 3-pointer closed the gap to 45-43 with 2:45 on the clock in the third quarter.
•The Pioneers responded with a 7-2 run to end the third quarter with a 52-45 lead over CSUSM.
•As the shot clock ran down to zero, Buckner tossed up a layup to cut CSUEB’s lead to 58-57 at the 6:39 mark of the fourth quarter.
•A Hackson steal followed by her sinking a pair of free throws gave CSUSM its first lead of the second half at 59-58 with 6:12 remaining.
•CSUEB answered with two free throws by Minia Tameliau to retake the lead at 60-59 with 6:02 on the clock.
•On a shot-clock buzzer beater, Custodio knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to give CSUSM back the lead at 62-60 at the 4:51 mark.
•CSUSM held on to the lead for the remainder of the game, outscoring the Pioneers 9-4.
•The Cougars went 12-of-12 from the free throw line in the final one minute and 36 seconds of the game.
•CSUSM’s defense held the Pioneers to 23.1% (3-of-13) from the field in the final quarter while shooting 50% (5-of-10).
•The Cougars outscored East Bay 32-17 in the fourth quarter.
FAST BREAKS •The Cougars improve to 25-4 while the Pioneers end their season at 18-12.
•CSUSM extended its win streak to 11 games.
•The Cougars led for only 6:10 of the game while the Pioneers held the lead for 30:34.
•CSUSM went 31-of-36 (81.6%) at the free throw line while CSUEB turned in 14-of-21 (66.7%).
•Hackson’s 26-point game was her second best this season as her top-scoring performance of 31 points came against the Pioneers two weeks ago.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will face the No. 2-seed UC San Diego Tritons in the CCAA Tournament Final at 8 p.m. on Saturday at RIMAC Arena.
