CHICO, Calif. – Despite double-doubles by Donisha Tate (Oakland, Calif., Las Positas College) and Dominique Hunter (San Francisco, Calif., Gateway HS), the sixth-seeded San Francisco State women's basketball team dropped a tough 72-62 decision to No. 3 seed Chico State Tuesday night in the first round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships at Acker Gymnasium.
The Gators (15-16) overcame a 43-23 deficit at intermission to take a 58-56 lead in the second half, but were unable to prevent a late 16-4 run by the Wildcats (20-8), who won their ninth in row to advance to Friday's semifinal round in Arcata, Calif.
Hunter scored a season-high 21 points and grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year, while Tate tallied 10 points and a career-high 21 rebounds for her 16th of the season in her final game at SF State. The Gators also received a season-best 13 points from Nicole Hicks (Santa Clarita, Calif., Saugus HS), who finished 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.
SF State got off to a wobbly start in the first half, shooting just 25.9 percent on 7 of 27 field-goal attempts, while committing 12 turnovers. Chico State, which turned the ball over just once during the period, took advantage of those opportunities by outscoring their guests 12-0 off those miscues.
With the score tied at 4-4, the Wildcats unleashed a 17-5 blitz, capped by a Natasha Smith jumper at the 10:04 mark to forge a 21-9 advantage. The Gators were able to whittle the deficit down to single digits as a jumper by Carly Cator (Lakewood, Colo., Lakewood HS) and a 3-pointer by Andrea Ohlssen (Pacifica, Calif., Cal Poly Pomona) pulled the visitors to within 26-17 with 7:03 remaining.
However, two free throws by Synchro Bull punctuated a 9-2 flurry, putting Chico State up 34-19 with 3:48 left before half. After Hunter converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, the Wildcats closed the half with another 9-1 run as a layup by Taylor Lydon at the buzzer gave the contest its 43-23 score at the break.
SF State fought back valiantly, outscoring Chico State 24-6 during a 9:38 stretch to open the second half as a triple by Hicks trimmed the deficit to 49-47 with 11:22 to go. Consecutive jumpers by Kristin Marquardt and Katie Girten then gave the Wildcats a six-point cushion at 53-47 less than a minute later.
The Gators refused to go quietly, however, as a jumper by Cator from the left side with 5:49 to go capped an 11-3 run to give SF State its first lead since a 4-2 mark early in the ballgame. Chico State responded with back-to-back jumpers by Pauline Ferrall and Bull, while Hunter sank a pair of free throws to knot the score at 60-60 with 3:16 left on the clock.
Over the next two-and-a-half minutes, SF State was unable to keep pace, missing five field goals and two free throws, while Chico State reeled off 10 straight points to build a commanding 70-60 lead it would not relinquish.
The Wildcats had four players reach double figures, including Smith, who finished with 16 points, while Melissa Richardson tallied 13 in the victory.
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