Lady Cougars Make Top 25 Poll

Nijat Mamtimen, Assistant Sport's Editor

The Cougar’s women basketball team topped the league standings after outmatching Cal State East Bay with a 74-54 win on Thursday.

According to the 2021-22 Women’s Basketball Standing, the Cougars have gone up to 12-1 in the conference record and 14-2 in the overall seasons.

In the game, guard player Sydney Buckley, scored 17 points, pulled eight rebounds, and three assists; Akayla Hackson garnered 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists along with Kelsey Forrester’s average of nine scores and two assists.

CSUSM’s women’s basketball team started the season at No. 19 in the D2SIDA Women’s Basketball National Poll on Nov. 15 and went up to T. 20 in the first poll with a 13-2 record that was released on Feb. 1st in the 2020-21 season.

The Cougar’s 13—2 record includes losses to No. 8 Western Washington and No.16 Cal State East Bay.

The women’s basketball team made it into the top 25 Poll two years ago, “We were on 23,” said Jimenez. “This is our second time back in the national ranking.”

Jimenez adds on, “Every game is a big obstacle to us, so we stay humble, and we stay locked in on the details and the things that made us a good program like our defense and our rebounding.” Next, the Cougars will compete against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday, February 5th.

Being in the top 25 polls meant that the Cougars, again, could introduce themselves to the nation, and they made it. “Still, there’s a long way to go,” Jimenez said, “It’s something that they worked for. But top 25 is not our goal because our goal is winning the conference.”