Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO – Bolstered by Candyce Matthews' career-high 17 points, the San Francisco State women's basketball team defeated visiting Cal State San Bernardino, 66-54, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association contest Thursday at The Swamp.
 
The Gators used a pair of timely runs in the second half to break open a tight contest, raising their record to 6-13 overall and 5-8 in league play, while the Coyotes slip to 5-12 overall and 4-9 in the CCAA.
 
In addition to Matthews' performance, which featured a 7-for-8 effort from the floor, SF State also received 14 points from Michaela Booker, while Farrah Shokoor  notched her second double-double of the season with 12 points (6-8 FG) and a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
“Tonight was an extremely important game for us,” said Gator head coach Joaquin Wallace, whose club took over sole possession of seventh place in the CCAA standings following Thursday's win.  “As a team we are improving, and Candyce had an outstanding game.  However, we committed 21 turnovers tonight, so we'll have to play a much better game against UC San Diego on Saturday, minimizing our mistakes.”
 
CSUSB also had three players finish with double-digit scoring totals, including Angela Streets (13 pts., 9 rebounds), Kristen Huffman (12 pts.) and Eliza Dy (10 pts.).  However, the Coyotes shot just 33.3 percent from the field (21-63), including an anemic 2-21 clip from beyond the 3-point arc.
 
SF State, meanwhile, connected on 29 of its 60 attempts from the floor (48.3 percent) and owned a 46-36 advantage in rebounds to help avenge an 80-54 loss to CSUSB on the road last month.
 
The two teams battled through a tight first half as the Gators broke a 19-19 deadlock with six straight points, including back-to-back jumpers by Matthews to give the host school a 25-19 lead with 2:36 left on the clock.
 
The Gators were stymied for the remainder of the period, however, as the Coyotes trimmed the deficit to one at 25-24 on a 3-pointer by Streets and a bucket by Huffman.  Prior to Streets' triple, the CSUSB had misfired on 13 straight attempts from beyond the arc.
 
Still, the score remained close for the first three minutes of the second half, with the two sides combining for five lead changes and two ties.  Trailing 33-31 after Dy's 3-pointer at the 17:31 mark, SF State unleashed a 14-1 flurry over the ensuing 5:19 to build a 45-34 lead it would not relinquish.
 
The Coyotes misfired on seven field-goal attempts during that stretch and turned the ball over four times, while Matthews tallied seven straight points on a pair of jumpers sandwiched around a 3-pointer.
 
CSUSB fashioned a small run of its own, narrowing the gap to six at 49-43 following Shayna Stuart's layup with 9:03 to go.  The Coyotes could draw no closer, however, as Booker responded on the ensuing possession with a tough jumper in traffic to ignite a 12-0 SF State blitz, which gave the hosts their biggest cushion of the night at 61-43 by the 4:53 mark.
 
CSUSB gradually crept back into contention as a Streets jumper pulled the visitors to within seven at 61-54 with just 1:39 remaining.  The rally was too little too late, however, as the Gators salted away the win with a pair of baskets by Shokoor in the paint sandwiched around a Lauren Varney free throw.
 
SF State returns to the court on Saturday, Jan. 28, when it plays host to top-ranked UC San Diego at The Swamp, beginning at 5:30 p.m.  The Tritons (19-0, 13-0 CCAA) were 69-53 winners at Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday.