LOS ANGELES – The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team wrapped up the 2016-17 season with a heartbreaker, falling 68-66 to Cal State L.A. in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on Saturday night at the Eagles Nest.
The Cougars finish their second season of NCAA Division II and CCAA competition with a 13-12 overall record and a 10-10 mark in the CCAA. CSUSM tied for seventh in the conference standings and would have qualified for the CCAA Women's Basketball Tournament if eligible for postseason.
The CCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament will be held at The Sports Center on CSUSM's campus on March 3-4. For tickets, click
here.
CSULA will be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the CCAA Tournament with a regular season record of 15-13, 12-8 CCAA.
Senior guard
Ashley Jenkins tallied a game-high 17 points after a 7-of-14 performance from the field. Freshman guard
Chloe Eackles notched 13 points and seven rebounds in the contest. Senior guard
Dee Armenta and junior forward
Savannah Camp added nine points each.
Four Golden Eagles reached double digits with Samantha Lee leading the way with 14 points. Christine Delapina and Marina LaPuzza dropped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. Rachel DiRegolo was the only player to earn a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Eackles made a clutch 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining to make it a two-point ball game, 65-63 CSULA. After Delapina made a pair of free throws, Armenta was fouled on a 3-pointer and sunk all three free throws to close in on CSULA's lead at 67-66. CSUSM fouled Rikke Fabricious to stop the clock and she made her first before missing the second free throw. The Cougars were unable to get a last-second shot off before the buzzer sounded.
With the score even at 34-34 at half, the game consisted of 12 lead changes and six ties. CSUSM held the largest lead of the game with eight points (18-10) two minutes into the second quarter.
The Cougars took advantage of their offensive rebounds by securing 10 points when presented a second chance. The Golden Eagles capitalized on CSUSM's 10 turnovers by scoring 13 points.
CSUSM's two seniors – Jenkins and Armenta – suited up for the last time as Cougars.
