OCEANSIDE, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball took down NAIA top-ranked Westmont College, 55-53, on Saturday night at MiraCosta College.
 
The Cougars (5-7) scored a fourth-quarter season-best 24 points to capture the first win over Westmont (15-2) in program history.

"I thought our team showed a lot of resiliency tonight," said head coach Renee Jimenez. "We have had too many close games and to finally pull out the win against the No. 1 NAIA team in the country shows how much we have grown as a team."
 
Junior Jasmine Matar came off the bench to lead the Cougars with 14 points.  Junior Ashley Ontiveros made 4-of-6 from beyond the 3-point line to finish with 12 points while classmate Ashley Jenkins added seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.
 
The Cougars trailed by as many as 15 points with two minutes remaining in the second quarter and a Matar jumper made it 33-20 at halftime.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ontiveros evened the game at 42-42 with 6:44 on the clock in the final quarter. Five lead changes and three ties later, Camp capitalized on a Westmont turnover for a layup to put CSUSM up 54-52 at the :47 mark.  Camp made the backend of a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left. Westmont's Krissy Karr missed a 3-point shot but an offensive board followed by a CSUSM foul sent her to the charity stripe. After sinking her first one, Karr missed the second and Camp was able to grab the rebound and secure the victory.
 
In the magical fourth frame, CSUSM shot 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the field while going a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Westmont was led by Aysia Shellmire who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The Cougars will go for their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) sweep on Thursday, Jan. 21 when they host Chico State at 6 p.m. at MiraCosta College. Earlier this season, CSUSM defeated the Wildcats 71-63 for the program's first conference road victory.