SEASIDE, Calif. – The San Francisco State women's basketball team received career-high scoring efforts from three different players en route to a 62-53 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday in a California Collegiate Athletic Association contest at the Kelp Bed in Seaside, Calif. With the victory, the Gators snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 8-6 on the season and 2-5 in conference action, while the Otters fall to 8-5 overall and 3-4 in the CCAA.

 

“Anytime you are able to win a conference game on the road, it is a quality win,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. “I thought we executed the scouting report well as a team and our players played hard for 40 minutes. We are going to have a similar effort against No. 25 UC San Diego on Saturday.” 

 

Senior Desiree Butler (Lancaster, California, Lancaster, Pasadena City College) posted her career best with a game-high 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting, while junior Madeleine Schwartz (San Rafael, California, Terra Linda, Arizona State University)scored a career-high 12 points of her own. Not to be outdone, fellow classmate Donisha Tate (Oakland, California, Oakland, Las Posita College) recorded her second straight double-double, tallying a career-high matching 11 points to go along with a game-best 10 rebounds. 

 

The Gators built an early 11-4 advantage after Schwartz nailed a jumper with 13:44 remaining. CSUMB then responded with a 9-0 flurry over the next two minutes, capped by Janet Oseguera's layup at the 11:40 mark, which gave the host team a 13-11 lead.

 

SF State put a halt to the run on consecutive baskets by Schwartz and Butler to go back in front, 15-13, with 10:37 remaining.   However, the Otters regained the momentum with a 12-4 spurt over a five-and-a-half minute stretch to grab their largest lead of the game at 25-19 with 5:09 left in the period.

 

The Gators picked themselves off the mat at this juncture as Butler hit a pair of jumpers sandwiched around two free throws by sophomore Dominique Hunter (San Francisco, California, Gateway), which knotted the score at 25-25. The two sides traded on the ensuing four possessions when Butler buried a 3-pointer with nine seconds left on the clock to give SF State a slim one-point margin at 30-29 heading into the locker room.

 

The Gators never trailed after intermission and were tied just once at 33-33 with 4:27 elapsed in the second half. SF State stretched its lead to 48-40 on a Tate layup at the midway point of period. 

 

CSUMB pulled to within three points on two occasions; however, consecutive layups by Schwartz and Butler restored the Gators eight-point cushion at 55-47 with 3:50 left in the game. SF State's defense clamped down at this point, forcing the Otters to misfire on their next four field-goal attempts, which effectively put the game out of reach. Meanwhile, two Schwartz foul shots shot gave the Gators their largest lead of the contest at 62-47 with just 26 seconds left on the clock.

 

SF State shot 42.1 percent from the field, while holding CSUMB to a 38.8 percent clip. The Gators also enjoyed a 30-26 rebounding edge and won the turnover battle, 22-15, forcing 13 Otter miscues in the first half alone.  

 

CSUMB was led by Dana Andrews' 17 points, while Helen Suarez and Oseguera chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively.

 

SF State returns home on Saturday, Jan. 17, when it plays host to UC San Diego in the Main Gymnasium. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Box Score