MERCED, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (5-5, 2-3 CCAA) picked up a 70-64 victory against UC Merced (3-10, 0-5 CCAA) on Friday evening at Greg and Cathie Hostetler Court.
TOP PERFORMERS
Kaity Haan – 20 points | 9 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 block | 1 steal
Tatum Tamashiro – 20 points | 3 rebounds | 1 assist | 5 steals
Sydney Hani – 5 points | 7 rebounds | 3 assists | 2 steals
Kristan Yumul – 12 points | 2 rebounds | 1 steal
Sophie Morales – 3 points | 3 rebounds | 4 assists | 1 steal
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sydney Hani scored CSUSM's first basket at 9:21 of the first quarter for a 2-0 lead.
- UC Merced responded with a 6-2 run capped by Nicole Lukito's layup at 7:54.
- Kaity Haan tied the game at 8-8 with a putback at 4:53, and Tatum Tamashiro's 3-point play at 4:48 gave CSUSM an 11-8 lead.
- UC Merced closed the first quarter strong, taking a 16-14 lead on Jazzy Beltran's jumper at 1:07.
- Sophie Morales hit a three at 9:38 of the second quarter to put CSUSM ahead 17-16, and Kristan Yumul drained back-to-back threes at 7:18 and 5:57 for a 30-24 advantage.
- CSUSM led 39-35 at halftime after shooting 55.6% (15-of-27) from the field and 40.0% (4-of-10) from three, while UC Merced shot 50.0% (13-of-26) and 27.3% (3-of-11).
- Tamashiro's three at the 9:12 mark of the third quarter extended CSUSM's lead to 42-35, but UC Merced rallied to within one (52-51) on Sarina Nagra's jumper with 37 seconds left.
- The Bobcats tied it at 53-all early in the fourth, but CSUSM answered with Haan's free throws at 9:20 and Bobadilla's three at 8:47 for a 58-53 lead.
- Tamashiro scored six points in the final five minutes, including a layup at 3:56 for CSUSM's largest lead at 68-55.
- UC Merced cut it to 68-64 on Nagra's three with 20 seconds left, but Haan sealed the win with two free throws with 15 seconds remaining.
QUICK HITS
- CSUSM shot 47.2% (25-of-53) from the field and 35.0% (7-of-20) from the arc while UC Merced finished at 38.6% (22-of-57) and 17.9% (5-of-28), respectively.
- The Cougars dominated points in the paint, 34-20, and held a 16-14 edge in points off turnovers.
- UC Merced had a slight edge on the boards, 33-32.
- CSUSM's bench outscored the Bobcat reserves, 19-12.
- Haan tallied her third game of scoring 20 or more points and her second consecutive.
- CSUSM's 70 points were a season high.
- The Cougars are now 2-0 in the all-time series against the Bobcats with their last game finishing in a 77-45 victory in Merced on Nov. 4, 2012, when both teams were NAIA schools.
UP NEXT
CSUSM continues its road trip on Sunday, Jan. 4, visiting Stanislaus State at 1 p.m. inside Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena in Turlock.
Latest Women's Basketball
- CSUSM Falls to Cal State LA in Overtime, 83-73The Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (6-8, 3-6 CCAA) battled through four quarters and overtime before dropping an 83-73 decision to Cal State LA (9-5, 5-3 CCAA) on Thursday evening at The Sports Center in San Marcos.
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