Box Score OCEANSIDE, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team trailed by nine in the second half, but used an 11-0 run to take the lead before holding off Clarke University (Iowa) 55-52 for its fourth-straight win on Monday night at MiraCosta College.

Down40-31 five minutes into the second frame, the Cougars edged within one at the 11:44 mark, but saw the Crusaders jump up by seven three minutes later. From there, CSUSM (7-9) rattled off 11 consecutive points over the next 4:10 to take a 52-48 edge on Sarah Jackson's fast-break layup.

CSUSM (7-9) held Clarke (2-8) to 0-of-5 shooting and a pair of turnovers in that span.

After a pair of free throws by Clarke's Breland Prochaska brought the Crusaders within one at 53-52 with 35 seconds remaining, CSUSM used the entire shot clock before Jackson fired off a shot from the corner. The ball missed the rim completely as the shot clock expired, but Clarke's Stephanie Aasen gained possession of the rock before having it bounce off her knee and out of bounds.

Mechel'la Logan was fouled on the ensuing inbound play and made both her free throws to give CSUSM the 55-52 lead and Clarke's half-court desperation shot was well short as time ran out.

“I'm super happy with the six minutes at the tail end. There was a lot of passion, a lot of communication and we were digging in defensively,” said CSUSM head coach Sheri Jennum. “I'm proud that we came back and got a win. We dug a pretty big hole for ourselves.”

Sherika Miller led the Cougars with 13 points, while Heather Thompson registered a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 boards. Thompson added five blocks in addition to her third double-double in her last four games.

The Cougars registered 12 total blocks, a new program record.

Jackson put together a thrifty game of her own, finishing with nine points, four rebounds, five assists, two blocks and four steals. She was 3-of-6 from the field and 3-of-5 from the line.

Jenna Kotas led the Crusaders with 20 points and Aasen tallied 13.

The Cougars will be back in action Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. against Concordia (Calif.) at MiraCosta College. For CSUSM's entire holiday home schedule, click here.