SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State women's basketball team defeated visiting Dominican 87-77 on Sunday afternoon in the Gators' regular season opener. Courtenay Brown scored 24 behind 60 percent (6-of-10) from three-point range and Imani Smith hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds and scored 15 points.

 
"Today was a great team win and we executed our game plan very well," said Head Coach Kristina Danella. "We shot the ball very well from the floor, but I was most impressed with how well we shared the ball [23 assists on 32 baskets]. We need to use the intensity we had tonight to propel us into Tuesday as we open CCAA play."

The Gators (1-0) stormed out to an early 14-5 advantage midway through the first quarter behind stellar three-point shooting by Rachel Iozzia and Imani Smith. SF State shot 53 percent from the field in the first ten minutes, 36 percent from beyond the arc, while the defense held Domincan (2-1) to just a 24 percent field goal mark as the hosts carried a 25-14 lead after the first quarter.
 
Domincan's Natalie Diaz sunk a layup which sparked the scoring in the second as the Penguins brought it to within seven following a Vanessa Cruz basket. Meanwhile the sharpshooting continued for the Gators as Brown dropped a three, Smith followed with a nice jumper the very next possession, and Iozzia made her third from beyond the arc to widen the advantage. Brown made another triple at the end of the half to make it a 12-point lead, but Alexis Price answered with a three of her own to make narrow their deficit 49-40 going into the break.
 
Another Brown three gave the Gators a 52-40 lead early in the third. However, the Penguins kept the pressure on and brought it within seven on a Cruz layup at the four-minute mark. Smith's layup with seconds remaining in the frame ended a Dominican run and gave the Gators a 69-60 lead at the end of the third quarter.
 
SF State continued to roll in the fourth as the shooting and the defense remained stout. Brown hit two more from deep to give the junior her sixth triple on the day. The Gators held the Penguins to just 15 points in the final quarter to seal the victory.
 
The Gators shot 51 percent in the contest, including 41 percent from three. Defensively, SF State grabbed 33 rebounds and limited the Penguins to just 19.

Up Next
The Gators travel to Cal State East Bay for their first conference contest of the season this Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video for both games will be provided by the Pioneers. Be sure to follow @sfstate_wbb for in-game updates.