LOS ANGELES – The SF State women's basketball team could not overcome a series of early turnovers as they fell to host Cal State L.A. 66-57 Saturday night at the Eagles Nest.  The Gators turned the ball over 15 times in the first half that put them in a hole they could not overcome.

Tatsiana Dashkevich led the Gators in scoring, finishing with 16 points despite a cool night shooting from the field.  She went 3-for-11 from the floor, but was 2-for-5 from 3-point range and was a remarkable 8-for-9 from the charity stripe.

Laura Lawson was an absolute beast for the Gators on the evening.  Lawson finished the night with her fifth double-double of the year.  Of her 13 rebounds, seven came on the offensive side of the ball, allowing the Gators to score 14 second chance points and was a big reason SF State played CSULA to a draw after the intermission.

SF State (5-14/3-10 CCAA) came out on fire to begin the game, hitting three of their first four attempts.  They finished the first half hitting just 5-of-20.  For the game they shot 38.2 percent from the field, going 21-for-55.  Lawson a big reason for the Gators solid shooting performance, as she went 7-for-13 on the evening.

Cal State L.A. (6-13/4-9 CCAA) was able to build a comfortable 16 point lead late in the second quarter.  A big reason for that lead was due to the Gators turnovers, 15 first half turnovers led to 12 points for the Golden Eagles. 

Also contributing to the early advantage for CSULA, was the Golden Eagles bench who outscored the Gators bench 34-8 on the night.  A big reason for that was the play from guard Franeka Hall, who scored a career-high 26 points all off the bench for CSULA.

In the opening quarter Lawson got the Gators going, scoring the first five points for SF State.  After the first media timeout, the Gators had an early 9-6 lead, with Dashkevich scoring the other four points for SF State.  Out of that break, Cal State L.A. went on a 10-2 run to close out the quarter, leading 16-11 to start the second period.
 
With a 1:23 left in the half, a pair of free throws by CSULA gave the Golden Eagles their largest lead of the night, up 16.  However, a hectic final minute of the half saw the Gators score six unanswered points, all coming from Felicia Villarruel to send SF State into the intermission down.  Villarruel drained a three point bucket for her first field goal, and followed that up with a made layup with the free throw as the time expired to end the half.

After the break the Gators and Golden Eagles battled to a draw, SF State cut the deficit to as little as seven, but could never get the game any closer, despite CSULA shooting just 9-for-24 after the break.

Villarruel finished with eight points on the evening, going 3-for-4 from the field.  Three other Gators scored six points, in Naila Washington, Lauryn Catching and Kiara Ginwright.  Ginwright also finished the night with four blocks, giving her 77 on the year, tying the SF State single season record Trina Easley in the 1984-85 season.

SF State returns home next weekend, when they host Humboldt State on Friday at 5:35 p.m.  That game will be televised regionally on Comcast Hometown Network. 

Complete Box Score (HTML)

Complete Box Score (PDF)

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Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.

Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments.  For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.