SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State women's basketball team bounced back on Saturday with an 81-67 victory over visiting Notre Dame de Namur in the final game of the Thanksgiving Classic.

 
Jhaina Stephens recorded her second-straight double-double with a career-high 27 points and 13 rebounds. Her performance during the Thanksgiving Classic earned her Tournament MVP honors while Erika Nilsen, who was named to the All-Tournament team, added a career-high 16 points and six boards while Rachel Iozzia dished eleven assists. 

"I thought we did a really good job of setting the tempo of the game and maintaining it throughout the whole game," said Head Coach Kristina Danella. "We executed both offensively and defensively, and JJ [Jhaina] Stephens stepped up huge tonight on the boards as well as finishing inside.  Erika Nilsen had some timely threes and Rachel's [Iozzia] court vision tonight was great. It's always a good night when our assists outweigh our turnovers. Tonight was another great team win." 
 
Nilsen got the scoring started with a defensive rebound and a quick put-back, and she followed in the next possession from beyond the arc to put the Gators (2-2) up 5-0. Stephens' jumper continued the run before Aubrey Mendonca's triple got the Argonauts (2-4) on the board. Stephen's added a layup midway through the quarter to put SF State up 11-7 following a pair of NDNU jumpers, and the junior dropped another following the media timeout to give the Gators a six-point lead. Marinel Alcantara sunk a three with just over three minutes to play, but Iozzia answered right back with a three of her own to bring the advantage to 18-13.  Stephens closed out first quarter scoring from the charity stripe, widening the lead to 22-16.
 
Jacqueline Moss opened up the second with a deep three from the right corner. Jenise McKnight ended the scoring drought at the three-minute mark to inch closer 28-20, however Amani Alexander hit a jumper to put SF State back up by ten. Stephens converted from the charity stripe two more times at just over two minutes to go, making it 32-22 and followed with a pair of defensive boards en route to her second-straight double-double performance of the season. Tyiteyana Jefferson sunk a layup with 41 seconds to play and put the Gators up 34-25 at the break.
 
Stephens nailed a jumper to extend the Gator advantage 36-28 to begin the second half. With over six to go McKnight dropped a three from the top of the key to bring the Argonauts within six. Nilsen got her first points in the second half on a triple from the left side and continued to roll as the senior dropped another jumper to bring the score to 46-35. Notre Dame battled back to cut into the deficit, however back-to-back Nilsen threes changed the momentum and gave the hosts a 58-42 into the final ten minutes of regulation.
 
The Argonauts came out in the fourth on a 7-2 run as they looked to spark a comeback. The Gators continued to roll in the offensive zone with Courtenay Brown adding a layup with just over seven to play to put SF State up 64-54, and Iozzia padding the lead with another three at the five-minute mark to put the hosts up 69-56. In the end, the Gators remained stout on offense to walk away with the key home victory, 81-67.
 
Up Next
The Gators host Cal State LA on Friday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. for the Purple Out IV doubleheader. The contest will be broadcast live on Comcast Hometown Network and the first 500 students in attendance will receive a free Purple Out T-shirt. Be sure to follow @sfstate_wbb for in-game updates.