HAYWARD, Calif. – The San Francisco State women's basketball team dropped its CCAA opener on Tuesday night to host Cal State East Bay 59-49 at Pioneer Gymnasium.

Courtneay Brown continued her hot streak by getting the Gators (1-1/0-1 CCAA) on the board with a layup for the first points of the night. The Pioneers (3-3/1-2 CCAA) answered with two quick baskets before Tyiteyana Jefferson ended the run with a jumper to cut the deficit to 5-4. Midway through the quarter, Erika Nilsen knotted the score at 7-7 with a three-pointer to join the scoring party, but Cal State East Bay went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead. A Jhaina Stephens layup off a dish from Rachel Iozzia ended the scoring in the first with SF State trailing 17-12.
 
At the seven-minute mark in the second quarter, Brown stole the ball from Chole Kellum and put in a layup to cut into the Pioneer lead, 19-16. Consecutive Laura Lawson jumpers brought the visitors to within one with just over three minutes left, and after another Pioneers basket, the senior followed with a layup to make it a one-point game yet again. However, Kellum responded with a layup of her own to bring the lead up to 25-22.
 
Imani Smith's jumper ended another Pioneer run to start the third and make it a 29-24 game. The back-and-forth continued throughout the third quarter, with Amani Alexander sinking a layup to bring the Gators within four and the hosts answering right back with another bucket to extend their lead once again. The period ended with a free throw by Smith to bring the score to 39-31.
 
Cal State East Bay opened up with another run in the fourth before Jacqueline Moss converted from beyond the arc to make things 45-36. Stephens brought the Gators closer with eight points in the final ten minutes, however the Pioneers continued their sharp shooting to seal the victory, 59-49.
 
Stephens had a season-high 13 points in the contest with nine rebounds while Smith added seven points and six boards. The Gators outrebounded the Pioneers 39-33 on the night and held a 30-15 advantage in bench points.
 
Up Next
SF State returns home to host the Thanksgiving Classic starting this Thursday, Nov. 24 at The Swamp. Notre Dame de Namur and Cal State East Bay open up Classic action at 3:30 p.m. before the Gators take on Fresno Pacific at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video for all games will be provided. Be sure to follow @sfstate_wbb for in-game updates.