SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State women's basketball team kept its postseason hopes alive with a 43-39 triumph over visiting Sonoma State in a low-scoring affair Saturday at the Main Gymnasium.

 

With the result, the Gators and Seawolves are now tied for the eighth and final spot in the CCAA Tournament with identical 5-15 records in league play, heading into the last two games of the regular season next week.

 

“Tonight was a battle with playoff implications,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. “I am proud of the way we have fought this season and that we have put ourselves in position to play in March.”

 

The Gators (5-19) committed a season-low nine turnovers on the night and held Sonoma State (7-17) to just 12 points in the second half to escape with the win.

 

Individually, SF State was led by Michaela Booker 's game-high 14 points, while Dominique Hunter fell one rebound shy of her career mark with 18 boards. On the flip side, the Seawolves were paced Taylor Vigil, who finished with 11 points, while Kristina Fahey notched a double-double with 10 points of her own to go along with 10 rebounds.

 

The Gators trailed by as many as 11 in the first half as Oly Markin's 3-pointer gave the visitors a 25-14 advantage with 6:36 remaining. However, the Purple and Gold unleashed a 12-2 flurry to close out the period, capped by Hunter's tip-in at the buzzer, which tightened the score to 27-26.

 

The two sides combined for just 11 field goals in the second half; however, Booker's tip-in gave the Gators a slim 36-34 edge at the 12:53 mark. The score remained unchanged over the next 6:30 until Amrallina Rowland converted a three-point play to give SSU the lead back at 37-36 with 6:23 left to play.

 

After an exchange of baskets, the SF State defense held the Seawolves scoreless for the remaining 4:36 of the contest. Erica Greer sank a free throw at the 3:23 mark to tie the score, while Hunter drained two foul shots of her own moments later to put the Gators in front to stay, 41-39, with 2:31 to go.
 

Following a critical steal by Nicole Hicks, Booker drove the lane with three seconds on the shot clock and drained what proved to be the clinching layup with 46 seconds on the game clock. SSU then came up empty on its final three possessions as the Gators gutted out the hard-fought victory.

 

SF State will close out its regular-season slate next week with a pair of home games against Cal State Stanislaus (Feb. 24) and Chico State (Feb. 25) on successive nights, starting at 5:30 p.m.

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