CARSON, Calif. – The No. 16/22 and third-seeded Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (24-6) saw its historic season come to an end with a 73-51 loss to No. 8/6 and top-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship game on Monday night in the Torodome.
TOP PERFORMERS
Charity Gallegos – 17 points | 4 rebounds | 2 steals
Jordan Vasquez – 13 points | 10 rebounds
Mina Tameilau – 11 points | 6 rebounds
Kate Carlson – 2 points | 4 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gallegos got things going with the first bucket of the game – a 3-pointer from the corner.
CSUSM jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead on a Tameilau reverse layup at 6:30 on the clock.
A Danyell Booker layup evened the game at 15-all with 2:05 remaining in the first quarter.
A pair of Vasquez free throws with 12 seconds remaining in the opening quarter put CSUSM up 20-15.
DH went on a 6-0 run to take a 27-23 lead into a media timeout with 4:45 remaining in the second quarter.
CSUSM trailed 27-26 at halftime to the Toros.
After shooting 61.5% (8-of-13) in the first quarter, the Cougars were limited to just 7.7% (1-of-13) in the second quarter.
The Cougars began the third quarter with Gallegos making a pair of free throws to give CSUSM back the lead at 28-27.
The Toros answered with a 6-0 run capped by a Dawnyel Lair jumper to take a 35-28 lead.
After being fouled on a 3-point attempt, Kelsey Forrester sunk three free throws to make it 35-31.
The Cougars broke through the CSUDH press with Tameilau finishing it with a wide open layup to make it 37-33 with 6:11 on the clock.
The Toros took a 48-38 lead into the final 10 minutes after shooting 52.9% (9-of-17) while CSUSM shot 23.1% (3-of-13).
A Gallegos pull-up 3-pointer and two made free throws closed the gap to within 10 at 55-45 with 4:30 remaining.
The Toros closed out the game with an 18-6 run to clinch the win.
FAST BREAKS
Charity Gallegos was named to the All-West Region Tournament team.
CSUSM’s 25 wins matched a program high set in 2019-20.
This was the Cougars’ first time competing in the West Regional Championship game.
Vasquez tallied her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
CSUDH led for 25:12 of the game while CSUSM was on top for 12:31.
The Toros outrebounded the Cougars 51-29 with 23 coming on the offensive boards.
