POMONA, Calif. – With a short bench, the San Francisco State women's basketball team gave one of the top teams in the region all they could handle.  A strong second half saw the Gators cut a 14-point deficit to four.  Unfortunately, the Gators rally wasn't enough as host Cal Poly Pomona came away with the 55-41 win on Thursday evening at Kellogg Gym.
 
The Gators (4-22/2-17) had three players in double figures on Thursday evening.  They were led by Kaitlin DaDalt and Felicia Villarruel who scored 12 points apiece.  Villarruel was on fire from long range, connecting on four 3-point buckets, a season-high for the senior.  Donae Moguel also finished in double figures, scoring 11 points. 
 
As a team, the Gators shot just 27.7 percent from the field, going 13-for-47 on the evening.  The difference in tonight's game was the Bronco's (15-10/13-6) depth.  CPP's bench combined to score 19 points, while the Gator's bench went scoreless.  In the paint, the Broncos outscored the Gators 36-12.
 
In the opening quarter things started out beautifully for the Gators.  Villarruel and Moguel hit back-to-back 3-point buckets to give SF State a 6-0 advantage.  From there, the first quarter belonged to the Broncos.
 
CPP went on a 16-0 run, going 6-for-8 from the floor.  Meanwhile, the Gators were held quiet on the offensive side of the ball, going 0-for-6 from the floor and 0-for-3 from long range.
 
To begin the second quarter, Moguel and DaDalt teamed up to score six quick points for the Gators and cut the deficit to 18-12 with 5:48 left in the half.  The Broncos regained control of the game, going on another run. This one an 8-0 run that put the Broncos up 26-12.  The two sides remained scoreless for the remaining two minutes of the half when Villarruel hit her second three of the half, sending the teams into the locker room with the score 26-15.
 
In the third quarter the Gators slowly chipped away at the Broncos lead.  Villarruel hit a deep three in the corner to star the scoring for the Gators.  From there, SF State went on to score 12 more points in the period to cut the deficit to six, 36-30 to end the third.
 
Imani Smith started off the fourth quarter hitting a jumper in at the top of the key, that cut the Gators deficit to four points, 36-34 with 8:47 left in the game.  The Broncos took back the momentum, going on another 8-0 run to increase their lead to 12, 44-32 with 4:59 in the game.
 
Foul trouble and free throws would allow the Broncos to put the game away, as they went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
 
The Gators will return to action on Saturday night when they wrap up the 2016=17 season in Arcata, Calif., taking on Humboldt State, tip-off is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start.