Cal State LA’s women’s basketball team lost 61-60 in the final seconds against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Feb. 29 at home. Despite the loss, the Golden Eagles were still able to hold onto the fourth seed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) due to a loss by Cal State San Bernardino. They ended the regular season with a 16-11 overall record and 13-9 in conference play.
The Golden Eagles didn’t come out of the gates strong offensively. They shot only 33.33% from the field and sank one of 15 from beyond the arc in the first half. Meanwhile Cal State LA’s offensive struggles, Cal State Dominguez Hills’ offense took off. They shot 46.43% in field goals, but they also lacked three-point success. They only shot five three-pointers in the half and made one.
Dominguez Hills was able to grab the lead early in the first quarter and kept it throughout the half as they ended on top 35-28. Head coach Torino Johnson took advantage of halftime to remind his team to keep things simple.
“We were really just focused in on the things we can control,” Johnson said. “Like hey, listen, there’s a whole half of basketball to be played so just settle down and let the game come to you and we’ll find ourselves right back in this game.”
Cal State LA’s defense carried them in the third quarter. They only allowed Dominguez Hills to score four points in the quarter. They got four steals, two blocks, and ten defensive rebounds. Their defense helped them grab a one point lead as they still weren’t shooting too well from the field with only 33.33% and no threes made. Guard Gabriella Rones explained the type of defense that helped them throughout the quarter.
“We locked in a lot on defense. I think that’s what brought us back,” Rones said. Press defense; that really brought us back and got our motor going, got our momentum going”
In the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles nearly doubled their field goal percentage as they shot 61.54% and made four of five three-point shots. Rones came off the bench in the fourth and made three of the four three-pointers. She ended the quarter with 11 points, and ended her night with 16 points with two assists and a steal. Although they put up a solid offensive performance, the game ultimately came down to two free throws that could have won them the game. They were both missed and Cal State LA dropped their last home game of the season.
The loss bumped Cal State LA from seventh to ninth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Though it was a little harder for them to make the NCAA tournament, the CCAA tournament helped them with that.
They started off the tournament on the right note as they were able to defeat the tournament host, Cal State San Bernardino, 78-64 in the first round on March 7. They did, however, lose to Cal State San Marcos on March 8, bringing their season record to 17-12.
It was just enough to grab the eighth seed in the NCAA tournament, set to start March 15 at Azusa Pacific. The Golden Eagles will play the tournament host at 2 p.m. on Friday.
