SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The RV/No. 25 Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (13-2, 11-1 CCAA) earned its best start in program history after clinching an 82-54 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay (1-13, 0-10 CCAA) on Saturday afternoon in The Sports Center.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Akayla Hackson – 16 points | 5 assists | 3-of-4 3FG | 3 steals
Dynnah Buckner – 15 points | 5 rebounds | 6-of-10 FG
Jordan Vasquez – 13 points | 8 rebounds | 5-of-5 FT
Kelsey Forrester – 12 points | 4 rebounds | 3 assists
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• An old-fashion 3-point play by Vasquez put CSUSM up 13-10 and sparked a 12-3 run to close out the first quarter at 22-13.
• CSUSM put together an 11-0 run that included two 3-pointers from Hackson and one from Forrester to give the Cougars a 35-18 lead with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter.
• The Cougar defense turned up the heat in the second quarter, holding the Otters to just 2-of-12 (16.7%) from the field and 0-of-5 from behind the 3-point line.
• Hackson led all scorers in the first half with 14 points after going 3-of-4 from 3-point line and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
• The Cougars got their largest lead of the game in the third quarter after a Kayden Korst layup at the 2:43 mark made it 57-26.
• CSUSM outscored the Otters 25-13 in the third quarter after shooting 63.6% (7-of-11) from the field.
• The Cougars maintained a 20 or more point cushion the entire fourth quarter with their largest lead coming on the final bucket of the game by Natalie Nicolosi with 34 seconds remaining. 

FAST BREAKS

• CSUSM extended its win streak to nine games, marking the second-longest win streak in program history. In 2019-20, the Cougars won 11 consecutive games to clinch a share CCAA Regular-Season Championship.
• With the win, the Cougars collected their eighth consecutive victory over CSUMB and are now 9-2 in the all-time series.
• Fifteen of CSUSM's points came from fast breaks while the Otters only recorded four.
• The Cougars got 32 points in the paint while limiting CSUMB to only 12 points.
• CSUSM shot a season-best 47.8% (11-of-23) from the 3-point line and the fifth-highest field goal percentage (48.2%, 27-of-56) of the season against the Otters.
• CSUSM's 82 points were the third most scored this season by the Cougars.
• The Cougars won the battle of the boards, finishing with 36 to CSUMB's 30.

UP NEXT
The Cougars take to the road next week, traveling to up to the Bay Area to take on Cal State East Bay on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.