Box Score OCEANSIDE, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team cut a double digit second-half deficit to one, but could not come all the way back in a 65-57 loss to Point Loma Nazarene on Wednesday afternoon at MiraCosta College.

After CSUSM (9-16) cut an 11-point hole to one with four minutes remaining, PLNU (10-9) put together a 9-0 spurt over the next 3:02 to take a 63-52 lead with 50 seconds left.

A 3-pointer from Cassie Damyanovich pulled CSUSM within eight with 0:30 left and the Cougars forced a turnover on the ensuing Sea Lion inbound. However, CSUSM could not get a shot off and PLNU ran off the clock.

Sherika Miller led the Cougars with 18 points, while Damyanovich added 13. Damyanovich was a perfect 5-for-5 at the stripe. Heather Thompson pulled down 13 boards.

PLNU's Savannah Erskine scored a game-high 19. Erin Andersen had 17 and Callie Rhoads tallied 11. Abby Boorman corralled a game-high 15 boards.

PLNU finished the first half strong to take a four-point lead into the break. The Sea Lions increased its lead to 42-31 at the 13:02 mark of the second stanza, but Miller hit back-to-back jumpers to spark a 9-0 run that saw CSUSM pull within two.

Lindsay Uyematsu flipped a pass to an open Damyanovich on the left side of the arc, and Damyanovich hit the 3-pointer to pull the Cougars within 46-45 at the 7:19 mark.

The teams traded buckets until Andersen hit consecutive left-handed layups to make it 52-47.
MacKenzie Harnett converted a fast-break layup to pull within three before draining a pair of free throws on another drive to the bucket to edge the Cougars back within one, 52-51, with four minutes remaining.

Rhoads answered with an open layup off a back-cut to push the lead back to three.

The Cougars had a chance to tie the game, but would come up empty on its possession despite three shots off a pair of offensive rebounds.

Erskine hit another turnaround in the paint to make the lead five before Rhoads picked off Thompson's pass at the 2:15 mark. PLNU came up empty on its ensuing possession, but once again Rhoads took the ball back, this time from CSUSM's Kimberly Kipp.

Carlott Kloppenburg hit the dagger for the Sea Lions, draining a deep 3-pointer with moments left on the shot clock to put PLNU up 59-51 with 1:20 left.

Damyanovich's 3-pointer was off the mark and Erskine hit a pair of free shots to ice the game with under a minute remaining.

CSUSM heads to New Mexico tomorrow for the Northern New Mexico College Invitational, Feb. 7-8. The Cougars will take on NNMC (4-16) on Friday at 5:00 PM PST. On Saturday, CSUSM faces Johnson & Wales (Colo.) at 5:00 PM PST.