ELLENSBURG, WASHINGTON -- Cal State LA's women's basketball saw its incredible, historic season come to a sudden end Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Division II West Region at Central Washington.

The No. 5 Golden Eagles fell in a first-round battle to No. 4 Vanguard, 79-75, in Nicholson Arena in the fourth of four quarterfinals. Cal State LA (24-7) came into the tournament riding the momentum of a first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Assocation Tournament title, but Vanguard (25-5) also came in as a tournament champion after taking the PacWest Conference tournament title. 

Nevaeh Asiasi completed one of the best individual seasons in program history with 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in her final game. She finished with a 19.4 points per game average, which is No. 5 all-time. She scored seven points in the final minute and brought the Golden Eagles to within two points at 77-75 with a layup with 14 seconds to go. Vanguard's Kaylee Byon made it a 78-75 margin after making a free throw giving the Golden Eagles a chance, but a 3-pointer was off and a pair of missed free throws left the door open for the Lions to eventually close it out.

Mariah Blake had an outstanding game for the Golden Eagles, recording a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double. Ronyae Jackson had nine points and six rebounds in 14 effective minutes.

Emma Schaaf led Vanguard with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, while Byon finished with 16 points and eight assists.

Amaya Fuentes had eight points, two rebounds and two blocks for the Golden Eagles, while Ariyah Smith had 12 assists, a pair of steals and four points. Kyara Walter had seven points.

Cal State LA shot 39.2 percent for the game (29-of-74), but was just 18-of-58 (31 percent) over the final three quarters. The Golden Eagles struggled from 3-point range, going just 3-of-23, including 1-of-11 in the second half, and from the free-throw line, going just 14-of-26. Vanguard shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) and was 7-of-23 from 3-point range. The Lions were 18-of-24 from the free-throw line. Cal State LA had a 48-44 rebounding edge and committed 15 turnovers to 17 for the Lions.

Cal State LA trailed early, but scored the final six points of the first quarter with four points from Blake and two from Asiasi to take a 27-19 lead after the period.

The Golden Eagles took a 10-point lead in the opening seconds of the second quarter when Smith hit a basket to make it 29-19 and a layup by Walter gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead, 32-21, with 9:04 to go in the period. Vanguard battled back, though, and took a 42-41 lead after a three-point play by Schaaf. After Jackson hit a free throw to tie it, Vanguard's Shayla O'Neil hit a 3-point to give her  team a 45-42 halftime lead.

The Golden Eagles then fell behind by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, before a layup by Asiasi and a 3-pointer by Walter cut the deficit to 62-55 entering the fourth quarter.

Cal State LA scored the first four points of the final quarter with layups by Walter and Blake to make it 62-59, but Vanguard recovered and led by at least five points until Asiasi's late three-point play made it 74-71 with 39 seconds remaining.

Cal State LA finished its historic season with a new record of 24 wins in a season and 18 conference wins. The Golden Eagles also recorded the longest winning streak ever with 15 in a row, nearly doubling the previous mark of eight. Cal State LA also claimed its first-ever CCAA Tournament title and Asiasi became the first player in program history to earn CCAA Player of the Year honors as well as becoming the program's first CCAA Tournament MVP.