SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team's comeback attempt came up just shy as the Cougars fell to Cal State Dominguez Hills in a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matchup, Thursday at The Sports Center. It is the fifth straight CSUSM game in which the contest was decided by four points or less.
The Cougars have their three-game winning streak snapped and drop to 6-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The Toros improve to 4-7 overall and 1-3 in the CCAA.
CSUSM shot 32.3 percent (21-65) from the field, 23.1 percent (6-26) from behind the arc and 76.2 percent (16-21) from the charity stripe, while CSUDH went 36.2 percent (25-69) on field goals, 17.6 percent (3-17) from three-point range and 73.7 percent (14-19) from the free throw line. The Cougars were outrebounded 49-36, including 18-12 on the offensive glass.
Junior forward
Savannah Camp recorded her third double-double of the season for the Cougars with 11 points and 10 rebounds with four steals. Junior guard
Raegan Lillie and senior guard
Dee Armenta pitched in 15 and 10 points, respectively. Senior guard
Ashley Jenkins dished out a game-high seven assists. Jocelyne Diaz was the Toros' leading scorer with 20 points to go with 14 rebounds. Dijour Ledbetter also recorded a double-double for CSUDH with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
CSUSM started slow as the Toros grabbed their biggest lead of the game, 20-10, with two minutes left in the opening quarter. The Cougars scored five straight points to trail 20-15 at the end of the first. CSUSM kept closing in on CSUDH in the second and cut the deficit to two points, 37-35, at halftime.
The Cougars evened the score four times in the third period, including on the first possession of the second half as Armenta forced a Toro turnover and passed it to Jenkins for the fast break bucket. A layup by Lillie tied the game, 49-49, going into the final quarter.
CSUSM went ahead for the first time in the contest with 9:10 remaining as Lillie nailed a three-pointer. CSUDH took back the lead on the following possession as the Cougars couldn't overtake the Toros for the rest of the game.
CSUSM attempted to make a furious last minute comeback as CSUDH led by five with 31 seconds left. The Cougars got a trey from Armenta cut the deficit to two and forced a Toro turnover to get the ball back with 19 seconds remaining. CSUSM came up empty on its game-tying attempt and had to foul, ultimately falling by three points.
The Cougars will take a day off before hosting Cal State L.A. on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.
