There was more than one local team making a deep run in college basketball this week, but the other one, from Cal State San Marcos, flew under the radar a bit.
The CSUSM women’s basketball team (27-7) saw its historic season end in the NCAA Division II Final Four.
The No. 8-seeded Cougars fell Wednesday, 70-68, in a heartbreaker as No. 5-seed Minnesota State’s Emily Herzberg hit a last-second layup that made the difference at St. Joseph Civic Center in Missouri.
But the players, led by forward Jordan Vasquez, reached several milestones for the program, including a record 27 wins, CCAA Tournament and regular-season championships, the first appearances in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight – thanks to an overtime win over top-seed Gannon – and Final Four.
“We’re going to ride this wave as long as we can,” head coach Renee Jimenez said after the upset win over Gannon.
In their Final Four game, CSUSM trailed 34-30 at the half after shooting 57.1% and overcoming a 15-2 MSU that put them behind by 11. But Cal State San Marcos also had 15 early turnovers and as the Mavericks (31-5) converted them for 14 points. But it was a seesaw second half and CSUSM had a one-point lead with 46 seconds left.
Minnesota State went on to win the title game over Texas Woman’s, 89-73.
Vasquez collected her 23rd double-double of the season wi th 16 points and 20 rebounds in the Cougars’ final game. It was the 49th of her collegiate career. She also was named a first-team All-American by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.
She called the team “such a fun, special group.”
For Jimenez, in her 10th season at CSUSM, the Div. II Final Four run showed not only that San Marcos “belong(s) here,” but that teams from the West Region do too.
“Our whole crew, like they can play and they can play with anyone in the country. And I’m glad that we got to perform and show that at a national level,” Jimenez said.
