SAN MARCOS, Calif.  – The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (0-5) fell 64-53 in its home opener to Saint Martin's (4-0) on Thursday night in The Sports Center.

TOP PERFORMERS
Rory Hetrick – 18 points | 7-of-12 FG | 3 rebounds
Tatum Tamashiro – 10 points | 2 rebounds | 2 assists
Rose Morse – 8 points | 4 rebounds | 1 assist
Destiny Okonkwo – 9 rebounds | 2 blocked shots
Kacie Slover – 7 points | 6 rebounds

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Saints took an early 6-2 lead but the Cougars battled back to close the gap to 10-9 on a Kacie Slover 3-pointer at the 4:40 mark of the first quarter.  
• SMU closed out the first quarter with a 21-14 lead over CSUSM.
• Trailing 33-25 at the break, CSUSM shot 38.1% (8-of-21) from the field in the first half while SMU clocked in at 46.9% (15-of-32).
• The Cougars cut their deficit to 37-33 on the backend off a made free throw by Kate Bobadilla with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter.
• The Saints took their biggest lead of the game at the 7:53 mark of the fourth quarter on a Jada Travis 3-pointer.
   

FAST BREAKS

• SMU led the game in shooting at 45.6% (26-of-57) while CSUSM finished at 37.5% (18-of-48).
• Hetrick led the Cougars in scoring at 18 points while the Saints' Kiana Rios had a game-high 20 points.
• CSUSM outrebounded SMU, 34-29, and had 11 offensive boards.  
• The Cougars had a slight edge in points off fast breaks at 11-10.
• Forty-six of SMU's points came from inside the paint while CSUSM tallied 24.
   

UP NEXT
CSUSM will take a break from its regular-season play next week when the Cougars host NCAA Division I UC Riverside on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m. in exhibition action.