SAN MARCOS, Calif. –  The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (18-6, 15-4 CCAA) will head north to take on Cal State East Bay (10-15, 8-11 CCAA) on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. before stopping at San Francisco State (5-19, 4-15 CCAA) on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tipoff. 

LAST WEEKEND

• The Cougars went 0-2 for the first time this season in conference play. 
• CSUSM dropped a 79-75 decision at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday before falling 76-73 at Cal State LA on Saturday. 
• Jordan Vasquez became the sixth Cougar to join the 1000-point club at San Marcos on Thursday. 

COUGAR FACTS

• With three games remaining in the regular season, the Cougars hold a one-game lead over second-place Chico State. 
• CSUSM, Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona have already clinched a spot in the CCAA Tournament that will be held at Cal State San Bernardino on March 7-9. 
• CSUSM continues to lead the CCAA in scoring defense (70th in DII) by holding opponents to 60.7 points per game.
• The Cougars remain first in free throw percentage (51st in DII) at 75.1%. 
• CSUSM's 42.7 field-goal percentage ranks second in the CCAA.
• The Cougars rank second in the conference in 3-pointers per game with a 7.2 average. 
• CSUSM is committing the second-lowest turnover percentage in the league at 15.1. 
• With a 55.5 field-goal percentage, Jordan Vasquez is the CCAA leader and ranks 20th in the nation.  
• Vasquez is third in Division II and first in the CCAA in double-doubles with 15 in the 24 games. 
• Vasquez is the CCAA leader with 280 rebounds (4th in DII) and 11.7 rebounds per game (3rd in DII).
• Malia Mastora is second in the CCAA in blocks per game (1.29) and total blocks (31). 
• Charity Gallegos moved into first in CCAA in 3-point percentage (39.7) and continues to rank third in 3-pointers per game (2.58) and total 3-pointers (62). 
• In points per game, Gallegos is fifth and Vasquez is seventh with averages of 15.8 and 15.5, respectively. 
• Mina Tameilau ranks second in the CCAA with an 83.3 free throw percentage. 
• Gallegos ranks fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.57. 

GAME 25 | CAL STATE EAST BAY
Date	Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024
Time	5:30 p.m.
Location	Hayward, Calif.
Venue	Pioneer Gymnasium
Records	CSUSM (18-6, 15-4 CCAA) CSUEB (10-15, 8-11 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network

THURSDAY AT CSUEB

• CSUEB is in 10th place in the CCAA standings, but the Pioneers are just two games out of sixth place. 
• The Pioneers snapped a five-game losing streak last Saturday with a 66-60 win over Cal State San Bernardino at home. 
• Two days earlier, East Bay fell 77-56 to Cal Poly Pomona to begin the weekend. 
• This season, the Pioneers are 6-5 when playing at home. 
• CSUSM defeated East Bay 78-65 in The Sports Center on Jan. 20 with Jordan Vasquez tallying 28 points and 17 rebounds. 
• The Pioneers are averaging the highest amount of fouls and turnovers per game in the CCAA at 21.1 and 21.3, respectively. 
• East Bay is ranking fifth in the conference with 9.1 steals per game. 
• Payton Sterk is the CCAA leader in points  (18.8), minutes  (36.89) and 3-pointers (2.92) per game in addition to field goals (155) and field goal attempts (410).
• CSUSM is 9-8 in the all-time series against East Bay and is 4-3 when playing in Hayward. 
• The Cougars have won the last three meetings against the Pioneers and the last four meetings in Hayward. 
• The Pioneers were picked to finish seventh in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 

 

GAME 26 | SAN FRANCISCO STATE
Date	Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024
Time	1 p.m.
Location	San Francisco, Calif.
Venue	The Swamp
Records	CSUSM (18-6, 15-4 CCAA) SF State (5-19, 4-15 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network

SATURDAY MATINEE AT SF STATE

• The Gators are 11th in the CCAA standings and have been eliminated from advancing to the CCAA Tournament. 
• Prior to hosting CSUSM on Saturday, the Gators will host Sonoma State on Thursday. 
• SF State enters the week on a six-game losing skid with the Gators' last win coming against Cal State Monterey Bay (54-51) on Jan. 27. 
• With an eight-game win streak on the line, the Cougars are 11-2 in the all-time series against SF State and are 5-1 when playing in San Francisco. 
• The Cougars defeated the Gators 89-75 on Jan. 18 with Charity Gallegos leading all scorers with 22 points. 
• CSUSM lone loss in San Francisco was the inaugural meeting between the two teams on Feb. 11, 2016, which resulted in a 50-48 overtime loss. 
• The Gators are ranked last in the CCAA in the following seven categories – rebounds per game (31.0), scoring offense (59.1), scoring defense (72.4), 3-point percentage defense (36.2), assists per game (10.5), field-goal percentage (34.6) and field-goal percentage defense (43.3) 
• Alexandra Alvarado is leading the Gators with 15.6 points per game, ranking sixth in the CCAA. 
• The Gators were picked to finish last in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 

   



2023-24 OUTLOOK

• CSUSM began the season ranked No. 22 in the WBCA Division II Top 25 Preseason Poll.
• The Cougars were voted to finish second in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• Nine Cougars return from the 2022-23 team, including All-CCAA first-teamer Jordan Vasquez, second-teamer Mina Tameilau and honorable mention selection Charity Gallegos. 
• CSUSM is joined this year by four transfers, including Camille Johnson (Sonoma State), Rose Morse (UC Riverside), Ava Ranson (Montana State) and Truitt Reilly (Western Washington). 
• Closing out the Cougars' roster of 16 are freshmen Kaitlyn Beall (Dream City Christian School), Maddie Leiva (Santa Margarita Catholic HS) and Jade Ramirez (Pinewood HS).  

THE JIMENEZ FILE

• Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her ninth season in charge of the Cougar women's basketball team, a program that is only in its 13th season of existence.
• Last season, CSUSM made it deepest run as a NCAA Division II program in 2022-23 by making it all the way to the NCAA West Regional final. The Cougars won the program's first-ever CCAA Tournament Championship. 
• 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 in 2021-22. 
• 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 and followed it up with a No. 3 seed in 2022-23. 
• 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 261-150 (.635) in her 15 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 ninth season at CSUSM, Jimenez has tallied a record of 136-79 (.633).