Cougars End Historic Season in Final Four
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The eighth-seeded Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (27-6) saw its historic season come to an end on Wednesday in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Semifinals, falling 70-68 to Minnesota State at St. Joseph Civic Center.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jordan Vasquez – 16 points | 20 rebounds
Charity Gallegos – 20 points | 5 assists | 4 rebounds
Truitt Reilly – 12 points | 10 rebounds | 2 blocked shots
Mina Tameilau – 12 points | 3 assists
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Truitt Reilly got things started early with a jumper to put CSUSM up 2-0 in the opening 20 seconds.
- The Mavericks answered with a 15-2 run capped by a jumper off a turnover by Natalie Bremer at 4:35 of the first quarter.
- CSUSM answered with a 3-pointer by Ranson at 4:05.
- A 7-0 run capped by a Reilly 3-pointer cut the Maverick lead to 19-18 to end the first quarter.
- An old-fashion 3-point play by Truitt evened the game at 23-all at the 6:57 mark of the second quarter.
- CSUSM trailed 34-30 at the half after shooting 57.1% (12-of-21) to MSU's 37.5% (12-of-32).
- The deciding factor in the first 20 minutes was turnovers as CSUSM committed 15 as the Mavericks converted 14 points.
- Reilly led CSUSM in the first half with eight points while MSU was led by Bremer's 14 points.
- An old-fashion 3-point play by Vasquez made it 41-37 MSU at the 5:49 mark of the third quarter.
- A Gallegos 3-pointer out of the third quarter media timeout cut the gap to 43-42 with 4:29 remaining.
- A Vasquez layup gave CSUSM its first lead since the opening 20 seconds, making it 46-45 at 2:54 mark of the third quarter.
- Gallegos' converted an old-fashion 3-point play to put the Cougars up 49-47 at 2:18 of third quarter.
- CSUSM took its largest lead of the third quarter on a layup by Tameilau to make it 53-49 with 31 seconds remaining.
- The Cougars held a 53-51 lead at the end of the third quarter after only turning the ball over twice in the 10 minutes.
- After trailing for the first part of the fourth quarter, a Vasquez layup evened the game at 58-all with 5:32 remaining.
- A big 3-pointer by Gallegos put CSUSM up 61-58 at 5:10 mark.
- The Mavericks went up 65-64 on a Bremer jumper at 2:35.
- A pair of made free throws by Tameilau gave CSUSM back the lead at 66-65.
- Another Bremer jumper gave MSU the lead at 1:15, making it 67-66.
- Gallegos drew a foul at 46 on the clock, going to the line and making both free throws to make it 68-67.
- MSU's Emily Herzberg made only the front end of her two free throws to even the game at 68-all with 20 seconds remaining.
- A last-second layup by Herzberg gave the Mavericks the 70-68 win.
FAST BREAK
- This was CSUSM's first trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and was its first national semifinals appearance.
- The Cougars shot 45.5% (25-of-55) from the field while holding the Mavericks to 39.4% (26-of-66).
- CSUSM turned over the ball a season-high 27 times to the NCAA Division II leader in forced turnovers.
- The Cougars got 38 points inside the paint to MSU's 28.
- CSUSM got 16 points on second-chance opportunities to the Mavericks' 12.
- The Cougars led for 7:29 of the game, 4:40 of it in the fourth quarter, while the Mavericks were on top for 29:01.
- Vasquez collected her 23rd double-double of the season (16 pts, 20 reb.) and the 49th of her collegiate career.
Latest Top News
- CSUSM to Make NCAA West Regional DebutThe fifth-seeded Cal State San Marcos baseball team (27-19) will make its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Division II West Regional taking place Thursday through Saturday at host and top-seeded Point Loma (40-10-1). The Cougars will open play by facing fourth-seeded Cal Poly Pomona (31-22) on Thursday at 11 a.m. at Carroll B. Land Stadium. CSUSM students, faculty and staff will receive free admission for the NCAA West Regional with a valid CSUSM ID when checking at the CSUSM pass list table.
- CSUSM Puts Five on NCBWA West All-Region TeamThe Cal State San Marcos baseball team placed five student-athletes on the 2024 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division II West All-Region Team on Wednesday.
- CCAA Enters Historic Media Rights Deal with FloSportsFloSports, a leading global sports media company, and the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the most successful NCAA Division II conference with 156 National Championships, have entered into an exclusive multi-year, seven-figure media rights agreement to begin this Fall. Through the agreement, FloSports will represent the CCAA and its 13 sports, providing a global platform to live stream events and support the teams, universities, and student-athletes with a robust content engine across the web and social.
- Badrani, Melanese Qualify for NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field ChampionshipsThe Cal State San Marcos men's and women's track & field teams will be represented at the 2024 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships as Rasha Badrani and Nick Melanese were selected to compete on Tuesday.
- Donnelly, Sloss Named to D2 CCA All-West Region TeamPaige Donnelly and Jayline Sloss of the Cal State San Marcos softball team were named to the 2024 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) All-West Region Softball First Team on Monday.
- CSUSM Selected for First NCAA Division II West Regional AppearanceThe Cal State San Marcos baseball team will be making its first-ever NCAA Division II West Regional appearance as the Cougars were selected as the No. 5 seed by the NCAA Selection Committee on Sunday night.