SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State women's basketball team opened its 2008-09 California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule on Friday with a hard-fought 57-53 victory over Cal State Stanislaus in the Main Gymnasium. The Gators won despite shooting just 37.7 percent from the field to move to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Warriors (4-1, 0-1 CCAA) suffered their first defeat the season.
“Defensively, I thought we did an outstanding job,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. “They came in averaging 76 points a game, and we held them to 23 points below their average. But we need to be more efficient at the offensive end.”
The first half was a see-saw battle featuring eight ties and five lead changes.
The
Gators enjoyed their largest cushion of the period at 12-7 with 11:39 remaining after a tip-in by Donisha Tate (Oakland, California, Oakland, Las Posita College). However, the Warriors kept within striking distance, eventually taking a 22-21 lead at the 2:54 mark on a lay-up by Samantha Bertomen. The SF State defense clamped down the rest of the half as a free throw by ZaLisha Oliver (Sacramento, California, Luther Burbank) climaxed a 5-0 run to put the home team up 26-22 heading into the locker room.
SF State never trailed following the break, building three leads of eight points in the first seven-plus minutes of the second half. An Oliver jumper put the Gators up 39-31 at the 12:44 mark, but were unable to extend their advantage any further. Instead, CSUS went on a 16-10 run over the next eight minutes, pulling to within 49-47 on a 3-pointer by Christin Gowan.
Another Oliver basket put SF State up, 51-47, with 4:04 left on the clock. However, the Warriors' Gwendolyn Page dialed up a pair of treys sandwiched around a lay-up by the Gators'
Kalia Williams (Los Angeles, California, Saint Monica, San Jose State University), which knotted the score at 53-53.
A lay-up by
Krystle Mays (Long Beach, California, Chatsworth) gave the Gators the lead for good at 55-53 with 2:02 remaining. Then, the SF State defense showed its mettle down the stretch, forcing an off-balance shot by Lysandra Williams and an errant pass by Andreanna Marshall.
Desiree Butler (Lancaster, California, Lancaster, Pasadena City College) provided the final margin, hitting two of four free throws in the final seven seconds to seal the win.
Individually, Oliver finished with a team-high 11 points, while Williams and Mays added eight points apiece. Page led all scorers with 19 points to pace CSUS.
The Gators were outrebounded 40-34, but won the crucial turnover battle, 33-18, which included 16 steals.
SF State will be back in action on Saturday, when it faces another league foe in Chico State beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Main Gymnasium.
Box Score
