SAN FRANCISCO – Donisha Tate (Oakland, California, Oakland, Las Posita College) posted her fifth double-double of the season, but it wasn't enough as the San Francisco State women's basketball team dropped a 52-44 decision to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday in the Main Gymnasium. The loss drops the Gators to 12-11 on the season and 6-10 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, while the Toros raised their record to 15-8 overall and 10-6 in the conference.
“Against a team like Cal State Dominguez Hills, you have to execute,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. However, we didn't do that tonight. We had our chances to get a big lead on them, but we didn't do the things we needed to do. They're a great team, but we need to learn to play two nights in a row.”
Tate notched 10 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive side, while Desiree Butler (Lancaster, California, Lancaster, Pasadena City College) tossed in a team-best 11 points. Neither side shot the ball particularly well in the low-scoring contest, as the Gators converted 16 of their 57 field-goal attempts (28.1 percent) compared to the Toros' 18-for-52 clip (34.6 percent). SF State outscored CSUDH 12-4 in the paint during the first half, but could only manage four points in the middle after the break.
The Gators led for most of the first half, building their largest lead of the game at 22-13 following a Tate jumper and a free throw by Marlee Rice (Los Angeles, California, Venice) with 2:24 remaining before intermission. The Toros responded with an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to 22-21, punctuated by Aujanee Baldwin's jumper with 47 seconds left on the clock. However, SF State answered with a layup by Tate and a ZaLisha Oliver (Sacramento, California, Luther Burbank) foul shot to forge a 25-21 advantage at halftime.
The Gator lead gradually evaporated in the second half, as CSUDH went ahead to stay at 33-31 following a Barbara Houston tip-in at the 10:18 mark. The Toros stretched the margin to 10 points shortly thereafter on a basket by Ashley Johnson with 6:49 remaining, which put the visitors up 45-35.
SF State cut the deficit to six points on three occasions, as a pair of Butler free throws pulled the home team to within 50-44 with 41 seconds left in the game. However, CSUDH kept the Gators off the scoreboard the rest of the way to seal the win.
The Toros were led by Neka Mixon, who posted a game-high 13 points, while Johnson chipped in with eight points of her own.
SF State wraps up its five-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 18, when it welcomes CCAA foe Cal State Monterey Bay to the Main Gym for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
Box Score
