LA JOLLA, Calif. – The top-seeded Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team came up just short against No. 2-seed UC San Diego, falling 73-62 in the championship game of the 2019-20 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women's Basketball Tournament Saturday night at RIMAC Arena.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Dynnah Bucknner – 15 points | 4 rebounds
Akayla Hackson – 14 points | 4 rebounds
Chloe Eackles – 13 points | 5 rebounds | 1 blocked shot
Jon'Nae Vermillion – 9 points | 8 rebounds
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Akayla Hackson
Jon'Nae Vermillion 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a 2-2 start, the Tritons went on a 7-0 run before a second-chance layup by Vermillion made it 9-4 with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter.
• At the end of the first quarter, CSUSM trailed 20-14 after UCSD shot 60.0% (9-of-15) to the Cougars' 40.0% (6-of-15).
• A put-back by Emma Forel cut CSUSM's deficit to 31-27 at the halftime break.
• Both teams shot just under 40.0% from the field in the first half with UCSD getting 20 points in the paint to CSUSM's 12.
• A Hackson layup and a free throw made it a 43-36 ballgame with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter.
• A 3-pointer by Julia Macabuhay with 1:01 remaining in the third quarter gave UCSD a 50-40 lead.
• CSUSM cut UCSD's lead to eight points (65-57) on a 3-pointer by Hackson with 4:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
• The Triton's answered with an 8-0 run at the hands of Macaburhay to put the game out of reach.

 
FAST BREAKS

• The Cougars fall to 25-5 while UC San Diego improves to 25-5 on the season.
• CSUSM saw its program-record 11-game win streak snapped.
• This marks the Cougars' first appearance in the tournament finale after exiting last year's tournament in the semifinals to UCSD.
• The Tritons scored 22 points off CSUSM's 16 turnovers while CSUSM notched just six points from UCSD's 10 turnovers.
• Vermillion narrowly missed out on a double-double, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.
• UCSD never trailed in the game, leading for 39:25.
• CSUSM shot 39.0% (23-of-39) from the field while UCSD turned in a 46.2% (30-of-65) performance.  

 


UP NEXT
The Cougars will now wait for the NCAA Division II Selection Show where the 64-team field will be unveiled live on NCAA.com at 7 p.m. (PT) tomorrow. In the latest NCAA West Regional Poll, CSUSM was ranked No. 3 behind No. 1 Hawaii Pacific and No. 2 Alaska Anchorage. The top eight teams in the final regional poll will advance.