SAN MARCOS, Calif. –  The No. 19/RV Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (15-3, 12-2 CCAA) will travel to the Bay Area this weekend to face Cal State Monterey Bay (5-14, 1-13 CCAA) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before closing with San Francisco State (7-13, 3-11 CCAA) on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

LAST WEEK

• CSUSM posted a 75-53 victory over Cal Poly Pomona last Saturday as Katie FitzGerald tallied a career-best 24 points. 
• The Cougars closed out their four-game homestand with an 81-78 win against Cal State San Bernardino as four different Cougars registered double digits in points led by Kelsey Forrester's and Jordan Vasquez's 17 points. Dynnah Buckner chipped in 16 points and FitzGerald added 10 points. 
• With Chico State (10-4 CCAA) handing Cal State Dominguez Hills (13-1 CCAA) its first loss of the season, the Cougars are now one game behind the Toros in the CCAA standings. 

COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• CSUSM moved up to No. 19 in the latest WBCA Top 25 Poll.
• The Cougars are once again receiving votes in the D2SIDA Top 25 Poll and remain at No. 5 in the D2SIDA West Regional Poll. 
• CSUSM is the top ball-handling team in the CCAA, ranking 22nd in turnovers per game (13.3) and 45th in assist/turnover ratio (1.01) in the nation. 
• The Cougars broke into the top 10 in Division II in free throw percentage at 78.1% (243-of-311), coming in at No. 10. 
• CSUSM is committing the second-fewest fouls in the CCAA at 15.6 per game, behind Chico State's 15.5. 
• Three Cougars hold the No. 4-6 spots in the CCAA in assist/turnover ratio with Kate Carlson (1.94) taking the No. 4 spot, followed by Charity Gallegos (1.87) and Deannah Buckner (1.75). 
• Kelsey Forrester is the CCAA 3-point field-goal percentage leader at 44.9%, ranking No. 14 in the nation. 
• Dynnah Buckner ranks second in the CCAA with 62 made free throws this season. 
• Averaging 3.17 3-pointers per game, Forrester ranks second in the CCAA behind CSUDH's Nicole Flennaugh and eighth in Division II. 
• Forrester has 210 career 3-pointers and is closing in on the CCAA record of 226 held by Chico State's Maddy Wong (2016-20). 

 

GAME 19 | CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
Date	Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023
Time	5:30 p.m.
Location	Seaside, Calif.
Venue	The Kelp Bed
Records	CSUSM (15-3, 12-2 CCAA) CSUMB (5-14, 1-13 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network

  

THURSDAY AT CSUMB

• The CSUSM and CSUMB will be meeting for the second time this season on Thursday. 
• The Cougars won the previous meeting on Dec. 10 by a score of 76-46 in The Sports Center to give Head Coach Renee Jimenez her 100th CSUSM win. 
• On a nine-game win streak over the Otters, CSUSM has dominated the all-time series at 10-2 and are 4-2 when playing in The Kelp Bed. 
• CSUMB went 0-2 last week on the road, falling 83-50 at Sonoma State on Thursday before dropping a 70-37 decision at Cal Poly Humboldt. 
• The Otters picked up their first CCAA win in their last home game, defeating Stanislaus State 93-63.
• CSUMB ranks last in the CCAA in points (57.0) and rebounds (32.4) per game. 
• Lauryn Pointer is the only Otter scoring in double digits with 14.8 per game. 
• The Otters are 2-6 when playing at home this season with their other victory coming against Lincoln University (52-50) on Dec. 19. 
• With just one CCAA victory this season, the Otters sit in last place with eight games remaining in the regular season. 
• CSUMB was picked to finish last in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 

 

GAME 20 | SAN FRANCISCO STATE
Date	Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023
Time	1 p.m.
Location	San Francisco, Calif.
Venue	The Swamp
Records	CSUSM (12-2, 9-1 CCAA) SF State (7-13, 3-11 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network

  

SATURDAY MATINEE IN SAN FRANCISCO

• CSUSM and SF State will meet for the second time this year on Saturday after the Gators host Cal State LA on Thursday. 
• The Gators currently sit in 10th place in the CCAA standings.
• On Dec. 8, the Cougars defeated the Gators 78-59 in The Sports Center after CSUSM's defense held SF State to just eight points in the fourth quarter. 
• The victory extended CSUSM's win streak over the Gators to six games. 
• The Cougars are 9-2 in the all-time series against SF State and are 4-1 when playing in The Swamp. 
• The Gators have lost six consecutive games with their last win coming on Jan. 7 against Cal Poly Humboldt (59-56). 
• SF State is averaging the fourth-most free throw attempts (18.95), but has the third-worst free throw percentage (61.7%) in the CCAA. 
• Mya Blake is leading SF State's offense with 15.2 points per game. 
• Jolene Armendariz is the CCAA leader in defensive rebounds per game (6.4) while Tierra Snipes is leading the conference in offensive rebounds per game (4.2). 
• The Gators were picked to finish ninth 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 233-141 (.623) 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 108-70 (.607).