Blue Named Women's Basketball First-Team All-CCAA, Askew Second-Team
Blue & Askew led resurgent Toros squad to NCAA postseason berth
March 18, 2005

Carson, CA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills junior Tameka Blue (Watsonville, CA/Santa Cruz HS) was named to the first-team All-California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) squad, while teammate Octavia Askew (Van Nuys, CA/ Birmingham HS) earned second-team All-CCAA honors, it was announced earlier the CCAA office.

Junior guard Tameka Blue was named to the 2005 First-Team All-CCAA squad after leading the Toros in scoring and assists this year. Photo Credit: Michael Foo

Blue, a 5’7” point guard, led the Toros to a 17-10 overall record and a tied for 2nd in the CCAA with a 15-5 mark. The three-year starter led CSUDH with a 14.0 point per game average, distributing 5.3 assists per contest. The Watsonville native also led the Toros in scoring on 11 occasions, including six of the last seven games, and poured in a season-high 27 points in the regular season finale against Cal State Monterey Bay.

In the West Region’s first-round match up pitting the Toros against No. 2-seeded Western Washington, Blue paced the Toros with 13 points in CSUDH’s first trip to the postseason since the 1995-96 campaign, but WWU prevailed in overtime, 82-74. With that 13-point effort, Blue became just the eighth player in CSUDH history to score at least 1,000 points in her career (1,005).

Amongst the CCAA’s top players, Blue finished in the top 25 in assists (5.3 apg, 2nd), assists-to-turnover ratio (2.10, 2nd), steals (2.44 spg, 4th, free throw percentage (.791, 8th), scoring (14.0 ppg, 10th), 3-point field goals made (1.37, 12th) and field goal percentage (.375, 19th). This marks the second time Blue has received a first-team All-CCAA nod, garnering the honor in the 2002-03 season while also winning CCAA Freshman of the Year distinction. Earlier this month, Blue was named to the 2005 Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region Second-Team, the first such honor in Blue’s career.

A 5’8” guard, Askew concluded her Toro career as the only four-year member of the squad, and also was amongst the top players in the conference in steals (2.26 spg, 7th), field goal percentage (.443, 12th), free throw percentage (.688, t-19th) and scoring (10.7 ppg, 22nd). The Van Nuys native finished third on the team in both scoring and rebounds, and led the team in rebounding twice and in scoring on four occasions, one of which included a career-high 32-point effort against perennial power Cal State Bakersfield earlier this season.

Next season, CSUDH returns four of five starters, including their entire front line, and looks to build upon a season that saw the Toros improve their overall win total by six games, their CCAA wins by eight, and their position in the conference standings by seven places.