POMONA, Calif. – Cal Poly Pomona's Reyana Colson sank a free throw with 1.7 seconds remaining to hand the San Francisco State women's basketball team a tough 47-46 defeat on Saturday at Kellogg Gym in Pomona, Calif. The Gators were unable to make a seven-point halftime lead stand up, falling to 9-8 overall and 3-7 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, while the Broncos raise their record to 11-8 on the season and 7-3 in conference play.
“This game came down to missed free throws as we left 15 points on the floor,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. “Defensively, it was a great effort on our end; however, we did not make free throws tonight.”
The Gators converted 14 of 29 attempts (48.3 percent) from the charity stripe and finished 15-for-43 from the field (34.9 percent) in the defensive struggle. CPP fared no better as SF State limited their hosts to just a 16-for-53 clip (30.2 percent).
Desiree Butler (Lancaster, California, Lancaster, Pasadena City College) was the only Gator to reach double figures, posting a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds. Donisha Tate (Oakland, California, Oakland, Las Posita College) added nine points and six boards, while ZaLisha Oliver (Sacramento, California, Luther Burbank) and Marlee Rice (Los Angeles, California, Venice) totaled seven points apiece.
SF State never trailed in the first half as the Broncos missed their first six field-goal attempts. The Gators built a 17-11 lead following a Tate layup and a free throw by Madeleine Schwartz (San Rafael, California, Terra Linda, Arizona State University) at the 4:13 mark. CPP closed to within 18-17 with 1:24 left, but consecutive 3-pointers by Marlee Rice and Butler gave the visitors a 24-17 cushion heading into intermission.
Following the break, SF State increased its advantage to nine at 30-21 following Butler's jumper at the 16:04 mark. However, the Broncos gradually chipped away at the deficit, taking the lead for the first time, 34-33, following Paulina Kotula's layup with 7:23 remaining. CPP widened the gap just over three minutes later as Jessica Duran's foul shot at the 4:21 mark made the score 43-38 in favor of the home team.
The Gators fought back with a 7-2 spurt to tie the game at 45-45 with 1:36 to go, keyed by back-to-back Tate jumpers. After Kotula connected on 1-of-2 free-throws to put the Broncos up, 46-45, Butler was fouled with 14 seconds left, but could only hit one of her fouls shots as well, knotting the score once again at 46-46. On the ensuing possession, Colson was able to get to the charity stripe after a foul with 1.7 seconds remaining on the clock. Her first attempt was off the mark, but the second shot went through the net, pinning SF State with the hard-luck defeat.
Colson finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Broncos, both game highs.
SF State returns to the court on Friday, Jan. 30, when it travels north to face Chico State in a CCAA road tilt beginning at 5:30 p.m.
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