CARSON, Calif. – The San Francisco State women's basketball team kicked off its four-game road swing on a sour note Friday, falling to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 59-49, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game at the Torodome.
Leading 27-24 at intermission, the Toros (4-7, 2-4 CCAA) opened the second half with a 26-11 run to build an insurmountable 53-35 lead en route to the victory. SF State (5-9, 1-5 CCAA) was limited to just 14-of-48 shooting on the evening (29.1 percent), including a 1-for-11 clip (9.1 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc, while CSUDH connected on 20 of its 54 attempts from the floor (37 percent). Despite holding a 39-35 rebounding advantage, the Gators also committed 27 turnovers, compared to 20 miscues by the Toros.
“Tonight, we played well in spurts, but we were not able to sustain a significant run throughout the game,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. “On the road, we have to make the easy baskets such as layups, putbacks and free throws, and that has hurt us throughout the season. Tomorrow, we have to concentrate on getting a split against an improving team in Cal State L.A.”
Individually, SF State was led by junior Dominique Hunter (San Francisco, Calif., Gateway HS) season-best 16 points, while senior Kalia Williams (Los Angeles, Calif., Saint Monica HS, San Jose State) tied for game high honors with eight rebounds off the bench.
CSUDH was paced by Neka Mixon, who tallied a game-high 21 points to go along with eight boards, while Whitney Gantt reached double figures with 11 points of her own.
The Toros kept the Gators at bay for most of the first half, opening a six-point cushion at 17-11 on a pair of Gantt free throws with 7:34 left on the clock. SF State began to whittle away at the deficit, however, as two foul shots by freshman Carly Cator (Lakewood, Colo., Lakewood HS) punctuated a 10-4 spurt to tie the score at 21-21.
Moments later, SF State took its only lead of the period at 23-21 on two Hunter free throws with 1:04 remaining. However, CSUDH responded with a pair of 3-pointers by Kala Amico and Mixon, sandwiched around another Hunter foul shot, to forge a 27-24 advantage heading into the locker room.
The Gators got off to a slow start following the break, as a jumper by senior Jessica Hout-Freeman (Fremont, Calif., Washington HS) with three minutes elapsed in the period would prove to be the visitors' lone field goal during a 13:11 stretch.
In the interim, a basket by Kayla Huckabee extended the Toros' lead to 45-30 with seven minutes remaining. Senior ZaLisha Oliver (Sacramento, Calif., Luther Burbank HS) completed a 3-point play on the ensuing possession to end SF State's field-goal drought. Shortly thereafter however, CSUDH increased the margin to 53-35, as Gantt's own 3-point play gave the host school its largest cushion of the game.
The Gators were poised to narrow the gap down to single digits after a pair of free throws by Hout-Freeman made the score 55-44 with 1:53 left on the clock. After a steal however, SF State was unable to convert a layup, while MacKenzie Mathias sank two free throws at the other end to snuff out SF State's last threat.
The Gators will remain in southern California on Saturday when they square off against Cal State L.A. beginning at 5:30 p.m.
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