CARSON -- The three Cal State Dominguez Hills seniors honored in a pregame ceremony didn't want today to be their final game of the 2025-26 season. And thanks to a gritty and hard-fought effort that withstood 28 fouls by Cal State San Bernardino, the Toros earned a 68-61 win to punch their ticket to the postseason, which starts on Thursday, March 5, at host Cal Poly Pomona.
Bryanne Lopez-Wood's team-high 16 points led the Cardinal and Gold charge, with
A'moree Ferrell adding 14 points that included all field goals coming from 3-point land.
The Toros, who earned the No. 5 seed, will face No. 4 seed Chico State at 2:30 pm, which follows the 12 noon opener featuring No. 3 seed Cal State LA and No. 6 seed Cal State Monterey Bay.
Both teams shot under 35% from the floor and from behind the line, but the Toros benefited from the urgency of needing a win to assure themselves a spot in the postseason by pushing the action, resulting in heading to the free throw line 17 more times than the Coyotes after CSUSB was called for 28 fouls compared to 18 for CSUDH.
After taking a 14-12 lead after the first quarter, the Toros took control in the second, outscoring CSUSB 23-12. CSUDH drained nine of their 12 free throw attempts in the period, with Lopez-Wood pouring in seven points and
Camryn Washington five in the dominating period.
CSUSB returned the favor in the third quarter by outscoring the Toros 22-14, setting up what would be a frenetic fourth quarter between two teams fighting to extend their season.
Leading 51-46 after three, the Yotes scored four-straight to close the gap to just one point, only to have Ferrell answer with a deep three and Lopez-Wood convert a lay-up in the paint to put the Toros up six.
Senior
Kylee Edgar, then connected on two of her six points in the game, with Ferrel hitting another 3-pointer after CSUSB answered with its own bucket to bring the Toro lead to 61-52 at the 5:28 mark.
CSUSB would get to within 64-59 at the 1:21 mark, but
Leilani Abraham hit three clutch free throws over the next 60 seconds to give the Toros a comfortable lead at 67-59 with just 18 seconds left in the eventual win.
Jones was a huge factor on the glass with 10 boards, with Lopez-Wood adding eight.
The Toros split the regular season series with the Wildcats, falling 93-74 on the road on January 4, before taking a 64-57 win in the Torodome on January 29.
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