SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Women’s basketball, men’s basketball and volleyball will each be in action at home this week for Cal State San Marcos Athletics.
Women’s basketball will get the week started by traveling to Cal State LA for the start of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. They’ll then conclude the week at home by playing Point Loma on Thursday at 7 p.m. in The Sports Center.
Men’s basketball will kick things off by going up against San Diego Christian in its home opener on Tuesday in The Sports Center with tip-off set for 7 p.m. The Cougars will then travel to Seaside for the 2019 Otter Invitational on Friday and Saturday. CSUSM will face Academy of Art on Friday at 1 p.m. before playing Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Both men’s and women’s basketball will celebrate Military Appreciation Week on Tuesday and Thursday. All military families will receive free entry with a valid ID.
Already with a spot clinched in the CCAA Tournament, volleyball will conclude its regular-season by hosting cross-county foe UC San Diego on Saturday at 5 p.m. in The Sports Center.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Nov. 12 – 5:30 p.m.
CSUSM (1-0) at Cal State LA (1-1)
Los Angeles – Cal State LA Gymnasium
Live Stats | Watch Live ($)
Thursday, Nov. 14 – 7 p.m.
CSUSM vs. Point Loma (1-1)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
LAST WEEK •The Cougars defeated Simon Fraser 67-62 in their season opener last Friday afternoon.
•This is only the second time in program history that CSUSM has begun the season with a victory. Last season’s 64-57 win over Hawaii Pacific was the first.
•Emma Forel led all scorers with 23 points while tallying nine rebounds.
•CSUSM shot 51.0% from the field while holding the Clan to a 46.2 field-goal percentage.
CCAA OPENER AT CSULA •The Golden Eagles kicked off their season with a 72-67 victory over Biola last Friday before falling to Concordia Irvine 57-48 the following day.
•In the NCAA era, CSUSM’s all-time record against CSULA is 4-3 with the last three meetings favoring the Cougars.
•In their last meeting in LA, the Cougars recorded an 89-87 triple-overtime victory over the Golden Eagles on Dec. 29.
•CSUSM’s 58-49 win in San Marcos on Feb. 14 was its largest margin of victory to date.
•NCAA Division I transfer from Long Beach State Sydney Bordonaro led the Golden Eagles’ scoring in both games and is averaging 16.5 points per game.
•The Golden Eagles were picked to finish 10th in the CCAA Preseason Poll.
•CSULA finished second-to-last in the 2018-19 CCAA standings with a 6-16 conference record.
THURSDAY MATCH-UP AGAINST POINT LOMA •The Sea Lions enter Thursday’s contest with a 1-1 record.
•PLNU dropped its season opener 81-71 to Cal Poly Pomona last Friday at the PacWest/CCAA Conference Challenge.
•In that same tournament, the Sea Lions bounced back with an 86-81 overtime win over Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday.
•PLNU had four Sea Lions reach double-digits in scoring in the first two contests.
•The Sea Lions were picked to finish third in the PacWest Preseason Poll.
•PLNU concluded its 2018-19 season with a 19-11 record, seeing its season come to an end after a 64-55 loss in the PacWest Conference Tournament semifinals.
THE JIMENEZ FILE •Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her fifth season in charge of the Cougar women’s basketball team, a program that is only in its eighth season of existence.
•Jimenez has compiled a 172-129 (.571) in her 12 seasons coaching in the CCAA, spending two seasons at Cal State San Bernardino after a five-year stint at Cal State Monterey Bay.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Nov. 12 – 7 p.m.
CSUSM (1-1) vs. San Diego Christian (0-2)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
Friday, Nov. 15 – 1 p.m.
CSUSM vs. Academy of Art (1-1)
Seaside, Calif. – Otter Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live ($)
Saturday, Nov. 16 – 1 p.m.
CSUSM vs. Alaska Fairbanks (1-1)
Seaside, Calif. – Otter Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live ($)
PREVIOUS WEEK •CSUSM went 1-1 in the opening weekend of play at the CCAA/PacWest Challenge in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday.
•The Cougars posted a come-from-behind win in overtime to defeat Biola 86-75 in its season opener on Friday.
•CSUSM nearly started the year at 2-0 before falling 68-66 to No. 23/21 Concordia Irvine with three seconds remaining on Saturday.
•Newcomer Alex Gil-Fernandez leads CSUSM with 18.5 points per game while Khalil Fuller clocked in at 18.0 points per game.
•In his second collegiate contest, redshirt freshman Jayce McCain broke the CSUSM single-game record for steals as he finished with nine. He broke Danny Redmon’s 2011 record of eight.
•Fuller and Darae Elliott each posted one double-double.
•Fuller had the fourth-best field-goal percentage in the conference during the opening weekend at 66.7% (14-for-21).
•CSUSM’s 12.5 steals per game rank seventh in the nation in the early going.
•Bryce Sloan is tied for the league lead with 6.0 assists per game.
•Head Coach B.J. Foster is two wins shy of his 50th career victory.
HOME OPENER AGAINST SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN •CSUSM will look to extend its home-winning streak to three games as the Cougars ended last season with two consecutive victories at The Sports Center.
•The Cougars have won six consecutive games against the Hawks and are 6-1 in the all-time series.
•CSUSM is 5-1 in home games against SDC.
•Last season, the Cougars earned an 84-76 win at The Sports Center behind Fuller’s 16 rebounds and 15 points.
•So far this season for the Hawks, they’re 0-2 with losses to Antelope Valley (95-57) and Saint Katherine (68-56).
•Riley Blea leads SDC with 13.5 points per game.
FRIDAY AGAINST ACADEMY OF ART •This will be the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Urban Knights.
•Academy of Art began the season with a 78-63 loss to San Francisco State before coming up with a 64-60 victory over Sonoma State last weekend.
•Kai Tease leads the Urban Knights with 15.0 points per game.
•ART U held the 26th-best rebound margin in Division II during the opening weekend of play at 10.5.
•The Urban Knights averaged 21 turnovers per game in their first two contests.
•ART U was picked to finish seventh in the PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll.
•Prior to Friday’s game, ART U will travel to Cal State East Bay on Tuesday.
WRAPPING UP THE WEEKEND AGAINST THE NANOOKS •This will be the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Nanooks.
•Alaska began the season with a 90-64 loss to Chaminade before earning a 75-73 victory against Hawaii Pacific this past weekend.
•Shadeed Shabazz leads the Nanooks with 21.0 points per game while averaging 7.0 rebounds.
•Alaska forced 17.5 turnovers per game in its first two contests – 49th-most nationally.
•Alaska’s worst defensive stats is their 20.5 defensive rebounds per game.
•The Nanooks were picked to finish fourth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
THE FOSTER FILE •Head coach B.J. Foster enters his fourth season in charge of the CSUSM Men’s Basketball program after taking over the head position in 2016.
•Under his leadership, the Cougars advanced to the CCAA Tournament for the first time in 2017-18 after finishing the season with a 15-7 conference record and a 20-9 overall record.
•Prior to becoming head coach of the Cougars, Foster was an assistant coach with the team from 2013 to 2016.
•Foster has tallied a career record of 48-39 (.552).
VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Nov. 16 – 5 p.m.
CSUSM (15-9, 9-6 CCAA) vs. UC San Diego (17-7, 11-5 CCAA) – SENIOR NIGHT
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars secured their spot in the CCAA Tournament last Friday with a sweep over Cal State Dominguez Hills.
•CSUSM dropped a four-set contest against No. 24 Cal State LA the next night.
•CSUSM’s blocks per set average ranks 42nd in the NCAA Division II statistics.
•Grecia Cordero-Barr continues to lead the CCAA in digs per set (4.65).
•Maddy Newcombe ranks second in the conference in aces per set (0.45) behind San Francisco State’s Payton Jensen (0.51).
•The seeding for the 2019 CCAA Volleyball Tournament will be determined by overall conference winning percentage and not divisional standings. The Cougars are tied for fifth with San Francisco State with a 9-6 record, a half-game behind Stanislaus State (10-6).
SENIOR NIGHT VS. UC SAN DIEGO •Prior to Saturday’s Senior Night match, the Cougars will honor Olivia Aguilar, Maddy Newcombe, Aleese Wheaton and Eliana Williams.
•This marks the final time that CSUSM will face UC San Diego in the regular season as the Tritons are moving to a NCAA Division I schedule next season.
•The Cougars fell in three sets to the Tritons in La Jolla on Nov. 2.
•CSUSM has won the last two contests between these two teams in The Sports Center.
•In 2018, the Cougars opened the match with a 25-20 win before falling 26-24 in the second set. The final two sets were all CSUSM as they trampled the Tritons 25-13 and 25-15.
•UCSD also secured its CCAA Tournament berth last Friday when the Tritons swept No. 24 Cal State LA.
•The Tritons are led by middle blocker Jessica Rieble who has the second-highest hitting percentage (.414) in the CCAA.
•UCSD is third in the overall CCAA standings, two games behind Cal State LA.
THE LEONARD FILE •Head coach Andrea Leonard enters her ninth season in charge of the Cougar volleyball team, a program she has built from the ground up since arriving on campus in 2010.
•Leonard has a 175-114 (.606) record as CSUSM’s head coach.
•In 16 seasons as a collegiate head volleyball coach, Leonard holds a 267-240 (.527) career record.
•Leonard was CSUSM’s first-ever CCAA Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to a third-place finish in the overall standings in the 2017 season.
