SAN MARCOS, Calif. –  The No. 14/RV Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (19-3, 16-2 CCAA) will play its final regular-season road trip this week, stopping at CCAA leader and No. 9 Cal State Dominguez Hills (23-1, 17-1 CCAA) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before flying up to Cal State East Bay (11-11, 8-10 CCAA) on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tipoff. 

LAST WEEK

• CSUSM posted a perfect 2-0 weekend last week, putting together a big fourth quarter to take down Chico State 62-52 on Thursday before recording an 82-71 win over Stanislaus State on Saturday. 
• Jordan Vasquez tallied her first two double-doubles of the seasons, tallying 21 points and 19 rebounds against Chico before posting a 13-point, 10-rebound performance against Stan State.

COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• With their berth into the CCAA Tournament secured, the Cougars will be vying to defend their regular-season championship with four games remaining. A CSUSM win and CSULA loss on Thursday will give the Cougars a bye in the CCAA Tournament. Two CSUSM wins this weekend will guarantee a CCAA Tournament first round bye. 
• The Cougars are "Under Consideration" to qualify for the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship Tournament, according to the first official regional rankings released Wednesday by the NCAA.  New this year for NCAA Division II sports with regional rankings, schools will be listed as under consideration in alphabetical order for the first ranking of the season. Next week's rankings will reflect the actual regional rankings.
• In the West Region for women's basketball, 10 teams are listed this week, including five from the CCAA – Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State LA, Cal State San Marcos and Chico State. Central Washington, Montana State Billings, Seattle Pacific and Western Washington represent the GNAC while Azusa Pacific is the lone PacWest school under consideration this week.
• CSUSM moved up one spot to No. 14 in the latest WBCA Top 25 Poll.
• The Cougars are still receiving votes in the D2SIDA Top 25 Poll and moved up to No. 4 in the D2SIDA West Regional Poll after Azusa Pacific dropped a 79-72 decision to Biola last week. 
• CSUSM is the top ball-handling team in the CCAA, ranking 35th in turnovers per game (13.9) and 50th in assist/turnover ratio (0.98) in the nation. 
• The Cougars remain in the top spot in the CCAA in free throw percentage at 77.5% (313-of-404) while ranking 16th in Division II. 
• CSUSM moved into the No. 1 spot in the CCAA in scoring defense this week, holding opponents to 58.8 points per game. 
• The Cougars rank second in the CCAA with a 42.3 field-goal percentage while CSUDH leads the conference with a 42.4%. 
• Kate Carlson and Charity Gallegos are ranked No. 2-3 in the CCAA in assist/turnover ratio at 1.95 and 1.82, respectively. 
• Kelsey Forrester is the CCAA 3-point field-goal percentage leader at 44.4%, ranking No. 14 in the nation. 
• Dynnah Buckner ranks second in the CCAA with 82 made free throws and a 82.8 free throw percentage. 
• Forrester has accumulated 221 career 3-pointers and is now chasing newly crowned CCAA 3-point leader Nicole Flennaugh of Cal State LA who has 238.  
• Vasquez's 19 rebounds against Chico State ranks No. 2 in the CSUSM single-game record books with Heather Thompson holding the record with 20 rebounds set in 2011 against Simpson. 

 

GAME 23 | CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS
Date	Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023
Time	5:30 p.m.
Location	Carson, Calif.
Venue	Torodome
Records	CSUSM (19-3, 16-2 CCAA) CSUDH (23-1, 17-1 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network

  

THURSDAY AT CSUDH

• CSUSM and CSUDH, the top two teams in the CCAA standings, will be meeting for the second time this season on Thursday. 
• The Cougars dropped a 74-73 decision in the previous meeting on Jan. 21 to the Toros, that featured 11 lead changes and 10 tie scores. 
• Exactly one week later, CSUDH was handed its first loss of the 2022-23 season, falling 73-72 to visiting Chico State on Jan. 28. 
• CCAA leader CSUDH has a one-game lead in the CCAA standings over the the Cougars. 
• CSUSM's Jan. 21 loss snapped a five-game win streak in the all-time series against CSUDH. 
• The Toros hold a 9-6 lead in the all-time series and a 4-2 lead when playing in the Torodome when against the Cougars. 
• Last week, Sonoma State was trailing by just thee points with two minutes remaining against the Toros, but eventually fell 60-50. 
• The Toros lead the CCAA in rebound margin (7.5), offensive rebounds per game (15.9), scoring margin (18.9), scoring offense (78.0), steals per game (12.6) and turnovers forced per game (21.92). 
• Dawnyel Lair is ranked second in Division II in steals per game (3.5) while leading the Toros in points per game (15.0). 
• CSUDH was picked to finish fifth in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

 

GAME 24 | CAL STATE EAST BAY
Date	Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023
Time	1 p.m.
Location	Hayward, Calif.
Venue	Pioneer Gymnasium
Records	CSUSM (19-3, 16-2 CCAA) CSUEB (11-11, 8-10 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network

  

SATURDAY MATINEE AT CSUEB

• CSUSM and CSUEB will meet for the second time this year on Saturday after the Pioneers host Cal State LA on Thursday. 
• The Pioneers currently sit in seventh place in the CCAA standings, two games out behind Sonoma State and are fighting to make it into the top six to advance to the CCAA Tournament. 
• The Cougars defeated the Pioneers, 72-62, on Jan. 19 in San Marcos. Buckner tallied a team-leading 22 points and six rebounds in the contest. 
• CSUSM is 7-8 in the all-time series against the Pioneers and is 3-3 when playing in Pioneer Gymnasium. 
• The Pioneers saw their three-game win streak snapped at Sonoma State last Saturday with a 67-65 overtime loss. 
• After falling to CSUSM on Jan. 19, CSUEB dropped its next three games to Cal State LA (80-59), Chico State (66-64) and Stanislaus State (68-56). 
• The Pioneers have the worst 3-point field-goal percentage in the CCAA at 26%. 
• CSUEB is leading the conference in rebounds per game with a 43.27 average. 
• Jaela Richardson is the leading the Pioneer offense with 13.9 points per game. 
• The Pioneers were picked to finish sixth 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 237-141 (.627) 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 112-70 (.615).