Box Score San Francisco, Calif. – The SF State women's basketball team rallied in the second half but could not overcome the 11 point second half deficit as they fell to Cal State East Bay 58-50, Friday night at The Swamp.

The Gators (14-13/10-11 CCAA) were led by senior Katie Batlin who fell a rebound shy of a double-double, finishing the night with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds.  The 21 points came on a sparkling shooting performance going 7-for-13 from the floor and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.

Fellow senior Lauren Varney also scored in double figures, tallying 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting with six rebounds. 

"Tonight was a difficult loss for our team," said head coach Dr. Joaquin Wallace.  "We had some great wins this season.  However, we came up short again tonight in the most important game of the year against a very good Cal State East Bay team.  I am hopeful we can close the season with a win tomorrow, which will result in a winning season and a .500 conference record."

To open the game, the Pioneers (15-13/12-9 CCAA) came out hot, shooting 46 percent from the floor, going 14-for-30.  Also critical was the 18 points in the paint CSUEB recorded in the first half. 

With 14:54 in the first Jennifer Le hit a three point bucket to put the Gators out front by four, 8-4, it was their largest lead of the game.  They would match that lead following a bucket by Angela Van Sickel, putting SFSU out front 10-6 with 13:52 to play.

From there the Pioneers went on a 13-3 run over the next six minutes, culminating with a layup by Rachel Finnegan to go out front 19-13.  A layup at the buzzer by Danielle Peacon cemented a nine point lead for CSUEB, going into the locker leading 34-25.

In the second half the Gators defense, as it has done all season, stiffened up.  Holding the Pioneers to just eight made baskets.

Unfortunately, the Gators could not overcome the nine point deficit, as SFSU was held to just seven made baskets in the second half, and was 1-for-8 from behind the arc.  Batlin scored 10 of her 21 in the second period, but the Gators could not stop Peacon who scored 12 of her 14 points after the break.

Brianna Terrance led the Pioneers with 17 points.  Micah Walker also scored in double figures for CSUEB finishing with 10.

With 9:01 in the game Terrance scored a layup that gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the game, going up 11, 47-36.  Over the next three minutes SF State went on a 9-1 run to cut the lead to three following a pair of free throws by Michelle Sutton. 

That was as close as the Gators would get.  With 1:40 left to play Van Sickel scored a bucket from the top of the key to bring SFSU to within four, 54-50, but it was the last basket the Gators would score as the Pioneers held on for the eight point win.

Van Sickel finished with seven points on the evening, shooting 3-for-11 from the floor and was 1-for-5 from deep.  Fellow senior Jennifer Le finished with eight points going 3-for-9 from the field and 2-for-6 from behind the arc. 

The Gators will return to action tomorrow night when SF State hosts Cal State Monterey Bay at 5:30 p.m. at the Swamp.  The five seniors will be honored before the game as they play their final collegiate game.

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