Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State women's basketball team forced a whopping 36 turnovers, pocketing a season-high 19 steals en route to a 39-35 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills in a California Collegiate Athletic Association contest Wednesday at The Swamp.
The Gators (8-19, 7-14 CCAA), who were out-rebounded by a 49-35 margin, including a 34-20 deficiency on the defensive glass, survived 20 turnovers of their own to snap their five-game losing streak and sweep the season series from the Toros (3-25, 2-19 CCAA).
“A win is a win,” said SF State head coach Joaquin Wallace. “We have one remaining game in our season, and I am hopeful we can play with much better effort and passion.”
Four players contributed at least four steals apiece for the Gators including
Michaela Booker, who finished with a team-best five thefts and added eight points in the low-scoring affair.
Angela Van Sickel also got in on the pilfering with four steals of her own, as did
Lauren Varney and
Farrah Shokoor, who also finished with seven points each. In addition, Shokoor posted her second-highest rebounding total of the season after grabbing 14 boards.
Porcha Davis notched 11 points to pace CSUDH, while Sherrie Hughes grabbed game-best 16 rebounds in the defeat.
Neither side shot the ball particularly well, as the Toros connected on 13 of their 46 field-goal attempts (28.3 percent), compared to SF State's 14-for-56 clip (25 percent). However, the Gators managed to keep the visitors at bay after out-scoring CSUDH 15-5 in the second half on points off turnovers.
Trailing 6-3, SF State scored 10 straight points, capped by a Booker layup to take a 13-6 lead with 8:13 left in the first half. The Toros twice narrowed the gap to two over the ensuing 5:18, including a 15-13 spread following a Zipporah Brown basket at the 2:55 mark.
SF State answered with a 3-pointer by Van Sickel and a Varney free throw to reclaim a six-point advantage at 19-13 with 1:55 to go before intermission. However, the Purple and Gold was held scoreless for the remainder of the half, while Davis drained a triple and Hillarie Perrin converted a jumper for CSUDH to trim the deficit one at 19-18 as the two teams headed into the locker room.
Following the break, Ella Rodriguez completed an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Toros up one final time in the game, before Gators vaulted ahead to stay at 23-21 following two foul shots by
Lyneeka Boyd and a
Nicole Hicks jumper at the 14:41 mark.
SF State built a trio of eight-point leads over the next 9:41, including a 36-28 margin after a Shokoor layup with five minutes to go in the ballgame.
Shortly thereafter, CSUDH closed to within 36-33; however, Booker responded with a clutch layup with 1:11 left to give the Purple and Gold a five-point bulge at 38-33 and the Toros never threatened again.
SF State closes out its 2011-12 regular-season schedule on Friday, Feb. 24, when it squares off against Cal State L.A. inside The Swamp. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
