SAN FRANCISCO – Buoyed by a stellar defensive effort and
Donisha Tate's (Oakland, California, Oakland, Las Posita College) fourth double-double of the season, the San Francisco State women's basketball team cruised to a 56-37 triumph over Sonoma State in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game Friday in the Main Gymnasium. Tate finished with 12 points and a career-best 15 rebounds to help the Gators improve to 11-9 overall and 5-8 in conference play. Meanwhile with the loss, the Seawolves drop to 8-12 on the year and 4-9 in the CCAA.
“We're probably one of the better defending teams in the country,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. “That's something we're very confident in doing."
“We were able to get on their shooters a lot tonight, and I just thought we followed the scouting report to a tee. Basically, we didn't let the people who normally shoot the ball for them score."
In addition to Tate's heroics, the Gators limited SSU to just a 15-for-58 shooting (25.9 percent) on the night, including a 5-for-21 clip (23.8 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. SF State also converted 20-of-24 free throw attempts (83.3 percent) and scored 20 points on 17 SSU turnovers.
The Gators never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 14-4 lead by the 14:21 mark in the first half following a
ZaLisha Oliver (Sacramento, California, Luther Burbank) layup and a pair of free throws by
Dominique Hunter (San Francisco, California, Gateway). However, the Seawolves responded with consecutive 3-pointers to trim the SF State advantage down to 14-10 while keeping the host team scoreless for a 5:47 stretch.
Desiree Butler 's (Lancaster, California, Lancaster, Pasadena City College) layup with 8:34 left broke the offensive drought, while the Gator defense clamped down, limiting SSU to just two baskets and two free throws for the remainder of the period. Leading 18-12,
Jessica Hout-Freeman's (Fremont, California, Washington) bucket at the 5:57 mark sparked a 16-4 outburst to close the half, as SF State enjoyed a 34-16 cushion heading into the locker room.
SF State kept the pedal to the metal in the second half, building its largest lead of the contest at 43-22 on a Tate jumper with 11:49 remaining. The Seawolves could draw no closer than 14 points the rest of the way, as Butler's triple and a pair of foul shots by
Ashlee Austin-Bean (Los Angeles, California, Bishop Montgomery) provided the Gators with an insurmountable 54-35 advantage with just 2:04 left on the clock.
Butler led all scorers with 17 points, while Oliver posted a career-high five steals. SSU was paced by Stephanie Barnes' nine points, while Marie Sweet had five boards in the defeat.
SF State continues its five-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 7, when it squares off against Humboldt State in a CCAA clash starting at 5:30 p.m.
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