AZUSA, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (0-2) dropped a 69-59 decision to Azusa Pacific (2-0) in the PacWest/CCAA Conference Challenge finale at the Felix Event Center on Saturday evening.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Camille Johnson – 14 points | 8-of-8 FT | 6 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 blocked shot
Rose Morse – 11 points | 6 rebounds
Tatum Tamashiro – 11 points | 1 steal | 3 rebounds
Destiny Okonkwo – 6 points | 4 rebounds | 1 blocked shot | 1 steal
Rory Hetrick – 7 points | 9 rebounds | 4 steals | 3 assists | 2 blocked shots
Lyric Richardson – 5 points | 8 rebounds

HOW IT HAPPENED

• APU held a 21-6 lead over CSUSM following the first quarter of play
• CSUSM trailed 40-20 at the halftime break after shooting 18.2% (6-of-33) from the field to APU's 44.4% (16-of-36).
• Azusa Pacific went 5-of-14 from the 3-point arc while San Marcos was 0-of-11 in the first 20 minutes.
• APU took its largest lead of the game of 27 points on a second-chance jumper by Amayah Kirckman to make it 47-20 with 8:17 remaining in the third quarter.
• CSUSM closed out the third quarter on a 7-0 run thanks to a layup and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Richardson in addition to two made free throws by Johnson.
• San Marcos made it a single-digit deficit (67-59) on a fast break off a turnover jumper by Tamashiro with four seconds remaining in the game.

 
FAST BREAKS

• This was the first meeting between these two teams to not be played on a neutral court.
• CSUSM ended the game shooting 28.2% (20-of-71) from the field while APU came in at 41.2% (28-of-68).
• CSUSM had the edge in steals (12-10), fewer turnovers (17-20) and blocked shots (4-3) while APU had more assists (14-9) and rebounds (48-47.
• CSUSM scored 21 points off turnovers to APU's 20.
• San Marcos notched 26 points in the paint while Azusa Pacific finished with 24.
• APU's bench contributed 21 points to CSUSM's 14.
• APU has a 4-2 lead in the all-time series against CSUSM.
   

UP NEXT
CSUSM will take to the court again next weekend in the SPU Region Crossover, facing host Seattle Pacific on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. and Western Washington on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m.