Box Score San Francisco, Calif. – The SF State women's basketball team trailed by as much 14 points late in the second half, but managed to cut the deficit to single digits late.  Ultimately, the Gators fell by a final score of 67-55 to Cal State LA on Saturday night at The Swamp.

Helping pave the way for the Golden Eagles (14-6/11-5 CCAA) was the strong play from the bench.  CSULA received 56 points from their reserve players, including a game-high 26 points from forward Aiwekhoe Okungbowa, who was 9-for-12 from the floor and 8-for-12 from the charity stripe.

Leading the scoring for the SF State (12-10/8-8CCAA) was senior guard Angela Van Sickel, who scored 13 of her team-high 17 points in the second half.  Van Sickel was the boost the Gators needed in their attempt at a comeback, scoring eight-straight for SFSU midway through the second period.

"Tough loss tonight for our team against a quality CSLA team," said head coach Dr. Joaquin Wallace.  "It's difficult to win a game when the opposing team's bench outscores your entire team.  Yet, we have a ton of basketball remaining, therefore, we have to continue to push ahead and prepare for our next opponent in HSU on Friday night."

Senior forward Katie Batlin continued her strong all-around play.  After a slow start, Batlin finished with 12 points, she started the evening 1-for-6.  She also added eight rebounds and three assists. Lauren Varney was one rebound shy of a double-double, she finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

SF State rushed out to the lead early, at one point leading by as much as eight points.  Leading the way for the Gators was junior Leticia Galarza who scored all eight points in the opening half to lead SFSU.  However, SF State could not find the bottom of the net, going scoreless for over eight minutes.   Meanwhile the Golden Eagles went on a commanding 22-1 run.  With 3:06 left in the first half Cal State LA led by 13 points, led by Okungbowa's 16 first half points.

The difference in the rebound totals was real story of the first half.  The Gators finished the first half with 17 total rebounds, five coming on offense.  The Golden Eagles finished the first half with 27 rebounds, 11 coming on the offensive side of the ball which contributed to their 14 points in the paint.

In the second half a red-hot Van Sickel started her scoring barrage with 9:31 to play, hitting the first of many three point buckets from behind the arc for the Gators.  In the second half, SF State went 5-for-12 from deep.
 
With 6:49 in the game, the Golden Eagles held their largest lead of the evening with 19, however SFSU battled back, eventually cutting that lead to just nine following a pair of free-throws by Batlin.  That was as close as SF State would get.

As a team, SFSU shot 31 percent from the field, going 18-for-58, while the Golden Eagles shot 43 percent from the floor, going 24-for-55, most of that coming on layups.  CSULA finished the night with 43 rebounds, 14 on offense, while SF State tallied 36.  Galarza finished the night with eight points, and six rebounds.  Brianna Harden tallied four while Brittaney Allison scored three.

With the loss, the Gators fall to a three way tie for seventh with Humboldt State and UC San Diego.  SF State returns to action next Friday, when the Gators host Humboldt State at the Swamp, tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. 

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