[Box score] [Cal State Dominguez Hills presser] [Cal State San Marcos presser]

For the first time in program history, Cal State Dominguez Hills is the NCAA West Region Champions.
 
Regional MVP Asia Jordan posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the Toros to a 73-51 win over the No. 3 seed Cal State San Marcos.
 
Jordan went 8-of-12 from the field to finish the tournament shooting .687 percent (22-of-32). CCAA Player of the Year Dawnyel Lair also came through with a double-double as she registered 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, with seven coming on the offensive end. Deejanae Poland added 12, and Danyell Booker came off the bench with 10 points.
 
Just as has been the case in every CSUSM playoff game, Charity Gallegos led the team in scoring, but this time she found it much more difficult. She scored a team-high 17 points, but the Toros' defense made it challenging, forcing her to take 15 shots (4-of-15) to get those points. Jordan Vasquez had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
It was a signature game for the 2023 Toros, who used a physical and disciplined style of basketball to grind out victories all year. Cal State San Marcos jumped out to a 20-15 lead after the first quarter, but in the second, CSUDH held them to one made basket (1-of-13) and just six points to go up 27-26 at the half.
 
After Gallegos made a pair of free throws on the first possession in the second half, Dominguez Hills rattled off eight straight points and took the lead for good. Jordan made the go-ahead layup on an assist from Nala Williams before Lair scored six consecutive points to the Toros up 35-27. Another layup by Jordan with four seconds remaining extended their lead to 10 (48-38) going into the fourth quarter.
 
The Cougars would go cold in the fourth. Cal State San Marcos missed its first three shots and had three turnovers in the first four minutes, while CSUDH went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 17 (55-38). Seven consecutive points by Gallegos cut CSUSM's deficit back to 10 with 4:30 remaining. Still, the Cougars would never again get the game back to single digits as the Toros outscored them 18-6 in the final minutes to hoist their first regional trophy.
 
One of the stories of the game was Cal State Dominguez Hills' domination on the glass. It outrebounded  Cal State San Marcos 51-29, and the Toros had more offensive rebounds (23) than the Cougars had defensive rebounds (20). They used this advantage to outscore CSUSM on points in the paint 50-24 and 18-10 on second-chance points.
 
The game was a matchup of two top 25 nationally ranked teams. The Toros came into the game ranked No. 8 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll, and the Cougars were No. 16.

Cal State Dominguez Hills will advance to the Women's Basketball Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo., where they will be the No. 3 seed. The Toros will face Catawba out of the Southeast region on Monday, Mar. 20.