POMONA--- SF State Gators' late rally fell short in their 46-42 loss to the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (20-5, 17-4 CAA) this evening in both team's regular season finale. The Gators were down by 7 with 3:13 left in the game and cut the Bronco lead to one (41-40) with 45 seconds to go, but Cal Poly Pomona connected on five of its eight attempts from the charity strip to secure the conference victory.
With the loss, SF State will be the sixth seed in the CCAA Basketball Championships and will travel to Chico, California, this Tuesday, March 2 for its First Round match-up with the Chico State Wildcats at 7pm. Cal Poly Pomona will be the number two seed and host a First Round match-up.
"Tonight, were were not able to execute our free throws late in the second half, which us an opportunity to win," said SF State Head Coach Joaquin Wallace. "I am proud of how our ladies battled throughout the season and we are playing in a single elimination format beginning Tuesday at Chico State," added Wallace. "I am hopeful, we have learned from the losses and play well against a quality Chico State team in the First Round of the CCAA Basketball Championships."
The Gators (15-15, 11-11 CAA) jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Cal Poly Pomona finished off the half outscoring its visitors 21-16 to take a 26-22 locker room at the half.
The Broncos continuing holding onto their lead and increasing that lead to 33-26 on a free throw by Megan Ford in the first seven minutes of the second half. They held on to a seven-point lead including their last seven-point lead (40-33) with 3:13 to go in the game on a Ford lay-up.
SF State went on a 6-0 run to cut the Bronco lead to 40-39 with 1:09 left on the clock, but Cal Poly Pomona outscored the Gators 6-3 in the final minutes to take the 46-42 victory.
Megan Ford paced the Broncos with 11 points while Stephisha Walton had 10 points. Cal Poly Pomona held the Gators to just 27% shooting from the field including 11% from three-point land.
Donisha Tate (Oakland, California, Las Posita College) recorded her 15th double-double of the season by scoring 10 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to lead SF State. Dominique Hunter (San Francisco, California, Gateway) chipped in 10 points also and added three blocked shots for the Gators.
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