AZUSA, Cali. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team looks to emerge as the top team in the west region Monday night, taking on Cal State San Marcos in the championship game of the west regional.
 
A bid to the Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Missouri is on the line for the No. 4 Seed Yellowjackets (28-6, 16-2 GNAC) and Cougars (25-6, 18-4 CCAA) as the two teams meet battle Monday night on the campus of Azusa Pacific.
 
2024 NCAA DII Tournament – West Regional Championship
No. 4 Seed Montana State University Billings vs. No. 2 Seed Cal State San Marcos
Date: Monday, March 18, 2024
Time: 7:00 PM PT/8:00 PM MT
Location: Felix Event Center – Azusa, CA
Tickets: https://aputickets.universitytickets.com/
Live Video ($): https://www.ncaa.com/game/6285285
Live Statistics: https://athletics.apu.edu/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
 
MATCHUP HISTORY: It's a matchup between two teams who are historically unfamiliar with each other, with the 'Jackets and Cougars only meeting one time in their program's respective histories, back in 2016. San Marcos took a narrow 77-72 victory in that game.
 
NATIONALLY RANKED FINAL: The game also marks a nationally ranked battle, with both teams ranked in the WBCA Coaches Poll to end the season. The Yellowjackets were ranked No. 19 in the last national rankings following conference championship week, while the Cougars were ranked No. 24 in the country.
 
HOW THE YELLOWJACKETS GOT HERE: MSUB earned their way to the final of the West Regional after being selected as the No. 4 Seed in the region, and the top at-large team in the west. The Yellowjackets opened the tournament in style, sprinting past No. 5 Seed Chico State in a runaway 86-55 matchup, shooting 53.3% from the field as a team and collecting the highest point total of any game in the tournament thus far. That set up a matchup between the No. 1 Seed and tournament host Azusa Pacific the following day, which MSUB facing off against a team that hadn't lost a game since November of 2023. The Yellowjackets would be more than up for the challenge however, never trailing in the entirety of the game to upset the Cougars 66-56, and punch their ticket to the final.
 
HOW THE COUGARS GOT HERE: San Marcos entered the West Regional as the No. 2 Seed after clinching an auto bid with their CCAA Tournament victory over Chico State. It would set them up to face No. 7 Seed Point Loma in the opening round, where the Cougars would take care of business to the tune of an 82-61 victory. They would move on to face a GNAC opponent in No. 3 Seed Western Washington, who would hang close with the Cougars for the entirety of the game, but would ultimately be defeated after a big fourth quarter run from San Marcos would give them a late cushion, setting up a meeting with MSUB to battle for the regional crown.
 
HOW THE TWO TEAMS STACK UP: Both teams rank among some of the top offensive and defensive units in the entire region. The Yellowjackets average 71.4 points per game coming into the game, shooting 41.2% from the field, 33.9% from three, and hitting 81.3% of their free throw attempts. San Marcos doesn't rank too far off, averaging 70.2 points per contest on 42.3% shooting from the field, 34.3% from three, and a 76.8% clip from the line. Both teams profile similarly in defensive scoring as well, with MSUB allowing teams to score just 58.4 points a contest, while the Cougars allow 60.1 points on average.
 
The differences can be found when you go deeper into the stats, however. Cal State San Marcos has found their defensive success by limiting teams' ability to make shots, allowing teams to shoot just 37.4% from the field this season, and only 29.5% from three. While the Yellowjackets have an even better defense beyond the arc, allowing teams to make just 28.4% of their long distance looks, teams have shot 40.5% against the Yellowjackets defense this season. The Yellowjackets advantage defensively exists in their ability to force turnovers, with the team forcing over 100 more turnovers and steals on the season than San Marcos's defense. That feeds into a vast difference in turnover margin, where the 'Jackets hold a clear advantage, with their 3.1 number surpassing the -0.6 mark of San Marcos. The Yellowjackets also hold a better assist to turnover ratio, although both teams average within one turnover of each other per game.
 
Cal State San Marcos Cougars
2023-24 Record: 25-6, 18-4 GNAC
Head Coach: Renee Jimenez (9th season)
 
In terms of personnel, the Yellowjackets have to contend with the D2CCA and PAC West Player of the Year in Jordan Vasquez. The forward is averaging 16.4 and 11.7 rebounds per contest, shooting 56.0% overall from the field. Behind her, the Cougars possess a strong combination of guards in Charity Gallegos, who averages 15.7 points and 3.4 assists per game, and Ava Ranson, who scored a team high 23 points in San Marcos's victory over Western Washington. Fellow forward Mina Tameilau offers another solid scoring presence as well with 10.9 points per game, while center Truitt Reilly and guard Malia Mastora offer a challenge defensively, blocking 27 and 38 shots on the season respectively.
 
REGIONAL SUCCESS: Cal State San Marcos has found a good amount of recent success in regional tournament play over the recent seasons, qualifying for the West Regional in the last three seasons (No 2021 Tournament due to COVID-19 Pandemic). They've improved each of those years, going from an appearance in the 2019-2020 season to finishing as runners up last year.
 
The Yellowjackets meanwhile have qualified for the West Regional five times in the past ten seasons, qualifying for the Sweet 16 for the third time in that span. MSUB has one regional win in that time span, qualifying for the Elite 8 in the 2017-2018 campaign, with that year's tournament also being hosted in Azusa. All-time the Yellowjackets have won four regional championships, picking up back-to-back titles in 1975-1976 and 1976-1977, and a West Region Championship back in 1998-1999.