SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The top-seeded and defending tournament champion Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (21-6) will face fourth-seeded Cal State LA (17-11) in the semifinals on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino.
LAST WEEKEND
CSUSM capped off the regular season with a 58-46 victory at Sonoma State last Thursday.
2024 WBB All-CCAA Graphic
COUGARS EARN TWO SPECIAL AWARDS & THREE ALL-CCAA NODS
Jordan Vasquez became CSUSM’s second CCAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Year in program history.
Head coach Renee Jimenez collected her fourth CCAA Coach of the Year award, the third in four years.
Charity Gallegos joined Vasquez on the All-CCAA first team while Mina Tameilau made the second team.
This was Vasquez’s third first-team honor while Gallegos recorded her second first-team appearance (third All-CCAA honor overall). Tameilau made her third appearance on the second team in her career.
Since joining the CCAA in 2015-16, CSUSM has tallied 25 All-CCAA award winners.
COUGAR FACTS
CSUSM won its third CCAA Regular-Season Championship in four years.
CSUSM continues to lead the CCAA in scoring defense (53rd in DII) by holding opponents to 59.6 points per game.
The Cougars remain first in the conference in free throw percentage (33rd in DII) at 75.9%.
CSUSM’s 42.5 field-goal percentage ranks second in the CCAA.
The Cougars rank second in the conference in 3-pointers per game with a 7.2 average.
CSUSM is committing the second-lowest turnover percentage in the league at 15.0.
With a 55.1 field-goal percentage, Jordan Vasquez is the CCAA leader and ranks 19th in the nation.
Vasquez is fourth in Division II and first in the CCAA in double-doubles with 18 in the 27 games.
As the CCAA leader, Vasquez ranks second in the nation with 11.9 rebounds per game and sixth with 320 total rebounds.
Malia Mastora is second in the CCAA in blocks per game (1.33) and total blocks (36).
Charity Gallegos ranks second in the CCAA in 3-point percentage (41.5), total 3-pointers (71) and 3-pointers per game (2.63).
In points per game, Gallegos is fifth and Vasquez is sixth with averages of 16.0 and 15.9, respectively.
Mina Tameilau ranks second in the CCAA with an 82.3 free throw percentage.
Gallegos ranks fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.62.
GAME 28 | CAL STATE LA
Date Friday, March 8, 2024
Time 2:30 p.m.
Location San Bernardino, Calif.
Venue Coussoulis Arena
Records CSUSM (21-6)
CSULA (16-12)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
SEMIFINALS AGAINST CSULA
Friday’s game will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal in Turlock as the second-seeded Cougars downed third-seeded Golden Eagles with a 75-69 victory.
CSULA earned a 78-64 win over fifth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday in the quarterfinal.
The Cougars and Golden Eagles split the regular-season series as each team won on their home floor. CSUSM won the first game 73-43 in the CCAA opener on Nov. 30 while CSULA took the second game 76-73 in LA on Feb. 17.
The Golden Eagles close out the regular season with a 61-60 loss to Cal State Dominguez on Senior Night last Thursday.
CSULA is boasting a CCAA-best 7.6 3-pointers per game and 22.3 3-point attempts per game.
The Golden Eagles are getting 24.7 points per game from their bench, second highest in the CCAA.
CSULA ranks second to last in the CCAA with 11.63 free throws made per game.
Gabriella Rones is the CCAA leader in 3-point field-goal percentage (42.6) and ranks 12 in Division II.
CSUSM holds a 12-6 lead in the all-time series against Cal State LA and have won the last 11 of 12 games.
POTENTIAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
If CSUSM is successful in its semifinal game against CSULA, the Cougars will have the opportunity to face second-seeded Chico State or third-seeded Cal poly Pomona in Saturday night’s 5 p.m. championship game.
The Cougars fell twice to Chico State this season, a 70-65 decision in San Marcos before a 77-72 loss at Chico.
CSUSM swept Cal Poly Pomona in the season series, collecting a 63-45 win in Pomona before recording a 74-69 victory in San Marcos.
2023-24 CCAA WBB Regular-Season Champions
2023-24 OUTLOOK
CSUSM began the season ranked No. 22 in the WBCA Division II Top 25 Preseason Poll.
The Cougars were voted to finish second in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
Nine Cougars return from the 2022-23 team, including All-CCAA first-teamer Jordan Vasquez, second-teamer Mina Tameilau and honorable mention selection Charity Gallegos.
CSUSM is joined this year by four transfers, including Camille Johnson (Sonoma State), Rose Morse (UC Riverside), Ava Ranson (Montana State) and Truitt Reilly (Western Washington).
Closing out the Cougars’ roster of 16 are freshmen Kaitlyn Beall (Dream City Christian School), Maddie Leiva (Santa Margarita Catholic HS) and Jade Ramirez (Pinewood HS).
THE JIMENEZ FILE
Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her ninth season in charge of the Cougar women’s basketball team, a program that is only in its 13th season of existence.
Last season, CSUSM made it deepest run as a NCAA Division II program in 2022-23 by making it all the way to the NCAA West Regional final. The Cougars won the program’s first-ever CCAA Tournament Championship.
In 2021-22, Jimenez earned her third career and second consecutive CCAA Coach of the Year honor. She previously earned the award as the head coach at Cal State Monterey Bay during the 2010-11 season. With Jimenez at the helm, the Cougars clinched their second consecutive CCAA Regular-Season Championship in 2021-22.
After CSUSM’s 2019-20 inaugural NCAA Division II West Regional appearance was cut short due to COVID-19, the Cougars were finally able to make their debut in the national tournament in 2021-22 as the No. 4 seed and followed it up with a No. 3 seed in 2022-23.
The Cougars have advanced to the CCAA Tournament three times, making it to the semifinals in 2018-19 followed by back-to-back finals appearance in 2019-20 and 2021-22.
Jimenez has compiled a 264-150 (.638) in her 15 seasons coaching in the CCAA, spending two seasons at Cal State San Bernardino after a five-year stint at Cal State Monterey Bay.
In her ninth season at CSUSM, Jimenez has tallied a record of 139-79 (.638).
