SAN MARCOS – For weeks the CCAA has been waiting for the top two women's basketball teams to meet. The moment finally arrived Saturday when No. 10 Cal State Dominguez Hills visited No. 18 Cal State San Marcos, and it the excitement lived up from tipoff to the final buzzer.
After missing four critical free throws, Dominguez Hills' defense was put to the test. With 0.6 seconds left, San Marcos had enough time to inbound and shoot. The Cougars did just that only
Dawnyel Lair delivered perhaps the biggest block of the season thus far to preserve a 74-73 win.
The win keeps the Toros' perfect at 18-0 overall, 12-0 in the CCAA while building a two-game lead over the Cougars, who fall to 13-3 overall, 10-2 in the conference.
Lair, the reigning CCAA Player of the Week and the D2CIDA National Player of the Week, keeps an impressive momentum going. The senior scored a career-high 24 points to extend her streak of 10 games with double-digit scoring. She also grabbed 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double in five games. Both streaks have kept Lair in the top five in both scoring and rebounding within the conference.
Freshman
Nala Williams contributed to a dozen points while reaching for eight rebounds.
Allyah Cartajena and
Danyell Booker each had 11 points and 17 combined boards.
San Marcos' Jordan Vasquez led an incredible effort on the floor, scoring 27 points and coming up just a rebound short from a double-double.
For 40 minutes, neither side had let the other run away with the lead. The Toros had the largest lead at any point in the game, a nine-point gap with 3:24 left in the third quarter.
Just like any good game, it came down to the final minute. Lair only made one of the Toros' six free throw opportunities, allowing the Cougars to stay in the game. After the sixth missed free throw, the Cougars called a timeout and advanced the ball. Looking for a clean shot, the Cougars couldn't find it and got lucky of a jump ball with 0.6 seconds left to keep it in their possession. They inbounded it to the left corner for Dynnah Buckner to take the game-winning 3-point shot attempt, only for it to be blocked by Lair.
The two sides will see each other again at the Torodome February 17. Until then, the Toros will head home to welcome Stanislaus State Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Toros beat the Warriors 68-56 at Fitzpatrick Arena earlier in the month.
