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ZaLisha Oliver

Women's Basketball

Gators Defeat Chico State for First Time in 10 Tries with 58-53 Road Victory

ZaLisha Oliver netted a career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 FG attempts in the Gators win at Chico State.
CHICO, Calif. – The San Francisco State women's basketball team received double-digit scoring efforts from three players en route to a 58-53 victory over Chico State in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game Friday at Acker Gymnasium in Chico, Calif. The Gators defeated the Wildcats for the first time in 10 meetings, improving to 10-8 overall and 4-7 in league play, while CSUC falls to 9-9 on the season and 5-6 in the CCAA.
 
ZaLisha Oliver (Sacramento, California, Luther Burbank) scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, while Desiree Butler (Lancaster, California, Lancaster, Pasadena City College) added 16 points, including 8-for-10 from the free-throw line. The Gators also received 11 points from Krystle Mays (Long Beach, California, Chatsworth) to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds, which tied her season best. As a team, SF State owned a distinct 47-33 edge in rebounding while limiting the Wildcats to just 18-of-62 shooting (29.0 percent).

"For the last five minutes we played well and under control," said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace.  "I am really proud of our team bounced back after a heartbreaking loss last week.  We're going to need the same effort against a quality Stanislaus team on Saturday."
 
CSUC jumped out to a 13-3 lead at the 11:20 mark of the first half before the Gators went on a 12-4 run to cut the deficit to 17-15, capped by a Dominique Hunter (San Francisco, California, Gateway) jump-shot with 3:58 remaining in the period. After a Wildcat 3-pointer, SF State answered with a trey of its own as Butler dialed up from long distance at the 2:19 left in the half, making the score 20-18 in favor of the host team.
 
CSUC reclaimed a four-point cushion with a basket on its ensuing possession, but the Gator defense clamped down, keeping the Wildcats off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half.   Then, Hunter netted a layup with 29 seconds remaining in the period, pulling SF State to within 22-20 at intermission.
Desiree Butler
 
The Gators kept the momentum following the break, scoring 10 unanswered points to take a 30-22 lead, punctuated by Donisha Tate's (Oakland, California, Oakland, Las Posita College) old-fashioned 3-point play at the 16:15 mark. CSUC fought its way back, however, reclaiming a 37-35 advantage with eight minutes remaining. The lead changed hands seven times over the next 3:28, with Melissa Richardson's triple giving the Wildcats the upper hand at 46-44 with 4:22 left on the clock. 
 
SF State responded on its next possession with a layup by Mays and then took the lead for good following a Chico State miss, as Oliver's basket and accompanying foul shot put the Gators up 49-46 with 3:12 to go. Then, SF State increased the margin to eight at 55-47 following a pair of Oliver conversions from the charity stripe with 15 seconds left on the clock. Despite a pair of Wildcat 3-pointers, the Gators kept the Chico State at bay with three foul shots to emerge with the victory.
 
Natasha Smith paced the Wildcats with 17 points, while Richardson added 16 in the loss.
 
SF State concludes its four-game road swing on Saturday, Jan. 31, when it travels to Turlock, Calif., to take on Cal State Stanislaus in a CCAA contest beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Krystle Mays


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