SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State women's basketball team received a season-high 17 points from freshman Sidney Dobner (Newbury Park, Calif, Newbury Park HS), but it wasn't enough as visiting Humboldt State claimed a narrow 50-49 victory in a defensive battle Sunday night in the Main Gymnasium.
With the win, the Lumberjacks remain unbeaten in the California Collegiate Athletic Association at 5-0, raising their overall record to 7-2, while the Gators slip to 5-8 on the season and 1-4 in league play.
“For the second consecutive night, we played incredible defense,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. “However, we were unable to close the game out. “We were once again done in by our inability to convert layups, putbacks and free throws. At some point, we need to be accountable and grow up.”
In addition to Dobner's effort, the Gators also collected a game-high 11 rebounds from senior Donisha Tate (Oakland, Calif., Oakland HS, Las Positas College) while fellow classmate ZaLisha Oliver (Sacramento, Calif., Luther Burbank HS) pulled down a season-best seven boards of her own. Junior Dominique Hunter (San Francisco, Calif., Gateway HS) got into the act as well with 11 points, including a 7-for-8 clip from the free-throw line, to go along with eight rebounds and a team-high four blocks.
HSU was led by Brittany Taylor, who notched a game-best 18 points, five blocks and three steals while adding 14 rebounds.
Trailing 9-4 through the first four minutes of the first half, the Gators erupted for 13 unanswered points as a 3-pointer by senior transfer Juliet Masei put the home team up 17-9 at the 13:38 mark. However, the Jacks were able to regroup, narrowing the gap to 24-22 after a triple by Taylor with 5:37 left in the period. Shortly thereafter, SF State gave itself some breathing room at 32-25 following a Dobner jumper with 1:05 remaining the period. HSU's Kristen Huffman then hit a free throw with five ticks on the clock to provide for the 32-26 halftime score.
SF State matched its largest lead of the night at 34-26 on its opening possession of the second half after Masei nailed a jumper with just 15 seconds elapsed. However, the Jacks rallied once again as a Bree Halsey layup off missed free throw by Taylor knotted the score at 38-38 with 11:11 remaining. After Dobner converted a pair of layups of to give the Gators a four-point cushion at 42-38, HSU responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a Halsey free throw, to put the visitors out in front 45-42 with 3:43 left on the clock. An Oliver jumper at the 3:31 mark ended a five-minute SF State scoring drought, while Dobner sank a free throw a minute-and-a-half later to tie the score at 45-45.
The score was knotted two additional times before Andrea Bobic hit a foul shot with 23 seconds left to put the Jacks up 50-49. The Gators had two chances in closing moments to reclaim the lead, but both shot attempts missed the mark.
SF State returns to action next weekend when it travels to southern California for a pair of games against Cal State Dominguez Hills (Jan. 8) and Cal State L.A. (Jan. 9.) on consecutive evenings. Tip-off time for both contests is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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