SAN MARCOS, Calif. –  The No. 16/NR Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (5-1, 2-0 CCAA) will host its CCAA home opener against San Francisco State (4-4, 1-2 CCAA) on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m. before welcoming Cal State Monterey Bay (3-4, 0-3 CCAA) to The Sports Center on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. 

The CSUSM Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be hosting a holiday toy drive at both of this week's games. Fans can bring a new, unwrapped toy and receive free entry. All gifts collected will be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos.

LAST TIME OUT

• CSUSM continued its winning ways this past weekend with a 70-59 win at Stanislaus State before recording a 54-41 victory at Chico State. 
• Thursday's victory at Stanislaus State was CSUSM's fifth time opening conference play with a win in its seven seasons since joining the CCAA in 2015-16. 
• Mina Tameilau led the Cougars in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game, with Kelsey Forrester contributing 10.5 points per game for the weekend. 

COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• Head Coach Renee Jimenez is two wins away from collecting her 100th victory at CSUSM. In her 14 years (13 on the court due to the pandemic), she has compiled a 223-139 (.616) record overall and a 98-68 (.590) record at CSUSM in her seven years (six on court). 
• The Cougars moved up to No. 16 in the WBCA Top 25 National Media Poll.
• In the D2SIDA West Region Poll, CSUSM is staying steady at No. 6 and is the top CCAA school in the West Region. 
• The Cougars are in the midst of a 19-game conference win streak dating back to their 76-70 win at Cal State Monterey Bay on Dec. 9, 2021.
• CSUSM is the top ball-handling team in the CCAA, ranking seventh in turnovers per game (12.0) and 15th in assist/turnover ratio (1.19) in the nation. 
• The Cougars rank second in 3-pointers per game (7.7) and 3-point attempts per game (25.5).
• CSUSM is committing the second-fewest fouls in the CCAA at 15.0.
• The Cougars moved up to second in the conference in assists per game, averaging 14.3 per game.  
• Kayden Korst is the CCAA leader and ranks 12th nationally with an assist/turnover ratio of 4.50. 
• Kelsey Forrester is second in the conference with a 2.67 3-pointers per game average.

 

GAME 7 | SAN FRANCISCO STATE
Date	Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022
Time	5:30 p.m.
Location	San Marcos, Calif.
Venue	The Sports Center
Records	CSUSM (5-1, 2-0 CCAA) San Francisco State (4-4, 1-2 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network
Tickets	HomeTown Ticketing

CCAA HOME OPENER VS SF STATE

• Thursday's game will be the 11th time CSUSM and SF State will have faced off against each other, dating back to the 2015-16 season. 
• The Cougars are 8-4 in the all-time series against the Gators with a 4-1 record for both at home and on the road. 
• CSUSM swept the season series in both 2019-20 and 2021-22.
• The Cougars have won the last five meetings by 10 or more points with their largest margin of victory coming in an 81-52 win in San Francisco on Jan. 25, 2020. 
• After defeating CSUMB to open CCAA play on Nov. 26 in Seaside, the Gators dropped back-to-back games last weekend to Cal State San Bernardino (66-56) and Cal Poly Pomona (62-48). 
• SF State has the third-best 3-point field-goal percentage in the CCAA at 32%. 
• The Gators have the worst free throw percentage in the conference and rank 274 out of 296 Division II teams in the nation, shooting just 58.3% (88-of-151). 
• Mya Blake is leading the Gator offense, averaging 15.6 points per game. 
• Tied for second in the CCAA, Jolene Armendariz and Blake each have 19 3-pointers this season. 
• Talmane Lesa-Hardee is the CCAA steals leader with a 21 in her eight games. 
• The Gators were picked to finish ninth in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 

 

GAME 8 | CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
Date	Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022
Time	1 p.m.
Location	San Marcos, Calif.
Venue	The Sports Center
Records	CSUSM (5-1, 2-0 CCAA) CSUMB (3-4, 0-3 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network
Tickets	HomeTown Ticketing

SATURDAY AGAINST CSUMB

• Prior to Saturday's game, CSUMB will play at Cal State LA on Thursday night. 
• The Cougars and Otters will play the 12th game in the all-time series on Saturday with CSUSM leading the series 9-2. 
• CSUSM has won eight consecutive games against the Otters. 
• After winning by the smallest margin in the series history in Seaside last season (76-60), the Cougars bounced back with an 28-point victory (82-54) in San Marcos on Jan. 29. 
• In Jimenez's final season as the CSUMB head coach in 2012-13, the Otters finished with a 20-9 record and made it to the semifinals of the NCAA West Regional. Since her leaving, CSUMB has not had a winning record with their most wins in the a season coming in at nine in 2015-16. 
• After starting off the season with a 3-0 record with wins over Academy of Art, Holy Names and Fresno Pacific, the Otters have hit a slump with four consecutive losses. CSUMB dropped a 64-58 overtime heartbreaker to Dominican in its final non-conference game before starting CCAA play. 
• CSUMB began its CCAA campaign with a 0-3 record, falling to San Francisco State (60-55), Cal Poly Pomona (67-61) and Cal State San Bernardino (56-52). 
• The Otters rank second in the CCAA in turnovers forced per game at 21.43. 
• CSUMB has the worst rebound average (33.71) and rebound margin (-3.9) in the conference.
• Lauryn Pointer is the CCAA scoring leader, averaging 16.3 points per game as well as minutes leader (36.04 per game). 
• Mikayla Mabie leads the conference in assists (34) and assists per game (4.9).
• The Otters were picked to finish last in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 

CONFERENCE FAVORITE

• CSUSM was picked to finish first once again in the 2022-23 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• The Cougars will start the new season ranked No. 12 in the WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and No. 18 in the D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll. 
• Nine Cougars return for the 2022-23 season including All-CCAA first teamers Jordan Vasquez and Dynnah Buckner as well as second-team selection Kelsey Forrester. 
• CSUSM adds three transfer, including sophomore Charity Gallegos (Chico State), redshirt junior Mina Tameilau (Cal State East Bay) and redshirt sophomore Malia Mastora (Seattle Pacific). 
• Beginning their collegiate campaign in Cougar Blue this season are freshmen Tatum Tamashiro and Alina Tran. 

    

THE JIMENEZ FILE

• Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her eighth season in charge of the Cougar women's basketball team, a program that is only in its twelfth season of existence.
• In 2021-22, Jimenez earned her third career and second consecutive CCAA Coach of the Year honor. She previously earned the award as the head coach at Cal State Monterey Bay during the 2010-11 season. 
• With Jimenez at the helm, the Cougars clinched their second consecutive CCAA Regular-Season Championship
• After CSUSM's 2019-20 inaugural NCAA Division II West Regional appearance was cut short due to COVID-19, the Cougars were finally able to make their debut in the national tournament in 2021-22 as the No. 4 seed. 
• The Cougars have advanced to the CCAA Tournament three times, making it to the semifinals in 2018-19 followed by back-to-back finals appearance in 2019-20 and 2021-22.
• Jimenez has compiled a 223-139 (.616) in her 14 seasons coaching in the CCAA, spending two seasons at Cal State San Bernardino after a five-year stint at Cal State Monterey Bay.
• In her seven seasons at CSUSM, Jimenez has tallied a record of 98-68 (.590).