SAN FRANCISCO – After a 10-day hiatus for the holidays, the San Francisco State women's basketball team jumped back into conference play Saturday night, dropping a 51-46 decision to visiting Sonoma State in the Main Gymnasium.
Despite season-highs of 18 points and six 3-pointers by senior transfer Juliet Masei (Mojave, Calif., Desert HS, Dickinson State), the Gators were unable to build on a 34-26 lead in the second half, falling to 5-7 on the season and 1-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Meanwhile with the win, the Seawolves raise their record to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in league action.
“(Missed) layups, putbacks and free throws have been our demise the entire season, along with turnovers,” said SF State Joaquin Wallace. “We have to put this game behind us and focus on Humboldt State tomorrow.”
In addition to Masei's output, the Gators also received a game-best 12 rebounds from senior Donisha Tate, including eight on the offensive end, while junior Dominique Hunter pulled down 11 boards to go along with a game-high five blocks and three steals.
SSU was led by Jaclyn Bisordi, who finished with 15 points and three steals, while Taylor Vigil added 10 points and six rebounds.
Neither side shot the ball particularly well, as SF State held a slight advantage in field-goal percentage (34.0-29.1) on 17-of-50 shooting, compared to the Seawolves' 16-for-55 clip. The Gators also maintained a 41-35 edge in rebounding, but came up on the wrong side in the turnover column (24-14).
SF State appeared to be in control in midway through the first half, as a Masei 3-pointer gave the home team a sizeable 19-7 cushion at the 9:53 mark. However, SSU rattled off nine straight points over the ensuing five-and-a-half minutes, cutting the deficit to 19-16 on a Vigil jumper with 4:21 left before intermission. Masei answered with another triple on the Gators' next possession; however, the Seawolves tallied the final five points of the period on Nadia Williams' layup and a 3-pointer by Vanessa Kelley to trim SF State's lead down to one at 22-21.
SF State gave itself a little bit of breathing room after the break, as another Masei 3-pointer capped a 12-5 run to put the hosts up 34-26 with 11:27 to go in the contest. SSU responded with a 14-5 flurry of its own, however, as a Bisordi converted an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 5:43 mark to give the visitors their first lead of the game at 41-39.
After a Hunter layup and an exchange of 3-pointers by Bisordi and Masei, which knotted the score at 44-44, the Seawolves went ahead to stay at 45-44 after Kelsey Wagner drained a free throw with 2:20 left. Bisordi then tacked two additional foul shots 10 seconds apart to stretch SSU's advantage to 48-44 with 25 seconds remaining. A layyup by freshman
Nicole Hicks (Santa Clarita, Calif, Saugus HS) brought the Gators to within 48-46; however, SSU's Stephanie Barnes sank three free throws over the final 17 seconds to seal the victory.
SF State will have little time to dwell on its defeat as Humboldt State invades the Main Gymnasium for another CCAA clash on Sunday, Jan. 3, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
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