SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State LA's women's basketball team's hopes for a first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament title ended Friday in heartbreaking fashion.

The Golden Eagles led for nearly all of regulation, only to see top-seeded Cal State San Marcos send the game into overtime with a late 3-pointer and then eventually prevail, 82-78, in Coussoulis Arena. Cal State LA (17-12) led by as many as 12 points and had an 11-point lead with 8:17 to go, but Cal State San Marcos (22-6) chipped away and ultimately took the lead in overtime and held on to earn a spot in Saturday's tournament championship game.

For the Golden Eagles, it was yet another heartbreaking defeat, the seventh time they have lost by one point or in overtime this season.

Lily Buggs led the Golden Eagles with 24 points and five rebounds and had another tremendous tournament. In last season's semifinal, Buggs tied a tournament record with 30 points against Cal State San Marcos. Nicole Flennaugh had her second big game of the tourney as well, scoring 21 points, including seven late in overtime to keep the Golden Eagles in the game.

Jordan Vasquez had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, while Charity Gallegos also had 21 points to go along with six rebounds.

Gabriella Rones had seven points for the Golden Eagles, while Alicia Jones and Olivia Hodges had six points each.

Cal State LA shot 45.3 percent for the game (29-of-64) and was 9-of-21 from 3-point range and 11-of-17 from the free-throw line. Cal State San Marcos shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) and was 7-of-25 from 3-point range and 21-of-26 from the free-throw line. Cal State San Marcos had a 42-35 rebounding edge and committed 16 turnovers to 15 for Cal State LA.

The Golden Eagles, after beating Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday in a first-round game, got off to a tremendous start on Friday, hitting 9-of-16 shot overall and 5-of-8 from 3-point range while charging out to a 24-14 lead after one period. A four-point play by Buggs gave the Golden Eagles a 17-10 lead and a 3-pointer by Flennaugh gave them a 24-14 lead after one quarter.

The Golden Eagles saw their lead cut to one point, 31-30, with four minutes left in the second quarter, but a pair of free throws by Sofia Fidelus, a 3-pointer by Amaya Fuentes, a free throw by Nevaeh Asiasi and a basket by Hodges pushed the lead back to 39-30. Cal State LA settled for a 39-33 halftime lead. 

The Golden Eagles made 8-of-11 field-goal attempts in the third quarter and took their biggest lead after a layup by Flennaugh put them ahead, 56-44. A layup by Rones kept the lead at 58-47, but the Cougars scored the final five points of the period to close to within 58-52 entering the final quarter.

A layup by Hodges gave the Golden Eagles a 63-52 lead with 8:17 to go and a 3-pointer by Buggs kept the lead at 66-58 with five minutes to play. A three-point play by Flennaugh made it 69-64 with 54 seconds left, but the Cougars got a pair of free throws and a game-tying 3-pointer by Katie Fitzgerald with nine seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Cal State San Marcos opened the overtime period with a pair of free throws to take its first lead since the first quarter and took a 76-70 lead with 1:50 left. Flennaugh hit a 3-pointer to make it 76-73 with one minute to go and another basket by Flennaugh kept it at 76-73 with 1:07 remaining. Flennaugh scored another basket to make it 80-77 with 17 seconds to go and a free throw by Buggs made it 81-78 with 13 seconds left. 

Cal State LA will now look forward to the NCAA selection show on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. to see if the Golden Eagles will qualify for the NCAA playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time in program history. Cal State LA was ranked ninth before tournament play started.