SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Head Coach Renee Jimenez recorded her 200th career win as the RV/NR Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (4-1, 2-0 CCAA) clinched a 71-65 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-5, 0-2 CCAA) on Thursday night in The Sports Center.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Akayla Hackson – 26 points | 5 rebounds | 10-of-15 FG | 5-of-10 3FG
Dynnah Buckner – 16 points | 8 rebounds | 3 assists
Kelsey Forrester – 13 points | 3-of-9 3FG | 5 assists | 4 steals
Sydney Buckley – 6 assists | 5 points
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After trailing 11-7 at the first media timeout, the Cougars went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead.
• Buckley sunk a 3-pointer from the corner with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter to give the Cougars an 18-15 lead. A Danyell Booker layup with two seconds on the clock made it 18-17 after the first 10 minutes.
• Hackson's 3-pointer at the 6:56 mark of the second quarter put the Cougars up for good and sparked an 11-2 run to give CSUSM a 29-23 lead.
• The Cougars close out the half with a 37-31 lead over the Toros after going 8-of-19 (46.7%) from behind the 3-point line.
• Buckner scored 10 of her 16 points in the third quarter to give CSUSM a 58-47 lead entering the final quarter.
• After a four-minute drought in the fourth quarter, the Cougars broke through the Toro press with Vasquez finishing a second-chance layup to make it 66-59 with 2:04 remaining.  
• The Cougars held off the Toro rally to collect the 71-65 win.

FAST BREAKS

• In 14 seasons as a head coach in the CCAA, Jimenez reached the 200-win milestone. After starting her head coaching career at Cal State Monterey Bay, Jimenez did a two-year stint at Cal State San Bernardino before taking over the program at CSUSM.
• With the win, CSUSM extended its CCAA regular-season win streak to 11 wins dating back to the 2019-20 season when the Cougars won a share of the CCAA Regular-Season Title.
• Hackson tallied her second-highest scoring performance with 26 points for the fourth time in her CSUSM career.
• CSUSM led for 33:12 of the game and the entire second half.
• With eight 3-pointers in the first half, the Cougars finished with 10 and were just two shy of tying the program record set at San Francisco State on Feb. 21, 2019. 
• The Cougars won the battle of the boards, finishing with 44 rebounds to CSUDH's 38. Eighteen of CSUSM's rebounds came on the offensive boards. 
• Forty of CSUDH's 65 points came in the paint while the Toros' bench produced 19 points. 

 
UP NEXT
CSUSM will conclude its home schedule for the calendar year when it hosts Cal State East Bay on Saturday at 1 p.m. in The Sports Center. The CSUSM Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will hold a toy drive benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos. All fans in attendance who bring one new, unwrapped and still-in-the-box toy will receive free admission.