SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Francisco State women's basketball team finished strong on Tuesday night as they dropped host San Jose State in their final preseason tuneup, 73-66.
- Taimane Lesa-Hardee dropped 20 points including three triples and added four boards while leading the team with three assists. Jhaina Stephens notched a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds.
- Danielle Palmer scored 11 with seven rebounds, five of which came in the offensive end. Amani Alexander had 11 points, including a pair of three-pointers that came in the second half.
- The Gator defense limited the Spartans (0-1) to just 31 percent (21-67) from the floor while SF State shot 37 percent (26-70).
- SF State shot 47 percent (8-17) from the field with a pair of threes in the second quarter while holding the Spartans to 25 percent (3-12) and just one from beyond the arc.Â
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The Spartans came out with two three-pointers to take a 6-0 lead. Lesa-Hardee put SF State on the board with a put-back jumper, but San Jose State got the next five points to go up 11-2. Corder hit a layup at the midway point, and Lesa-Hardee sunk one from beyond the arc on the right side to narrow the deficit to six. Trailing 16-7 following another Spartan three-pointer, Palmer got her first points of the night and Stephens added two from the charity stripe that cut it to five. Palmer drew a foul in the closing seconds of the quarter and converted to make it 19-13 going into the break. The Spartans' performance beyond the arc was the difference in the first as the hosts shot 42 percent in the first ten minutes.
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Lesa-Hardee opened up the second with another triple and Alexander got the steal and score to make it a one-point contest at 19-18 and prompt a Spartan timeout. Following a three-pointer from Nefer Leon, Lesa-Hardee continued to roll with a jumper from the inside right and her third triple of the night to give the Gators their first lead at 23-22. Palmer added a layup to push the lead to three following an offensive rebound, and SF State held the Spartans scoreless for nearly three minutes until they got a free throw. San Jose regained the lead with a jumper by Danae Marquez with 3:41 left in the half, but Stephens tied it up at 26-all. Down 30-28, Stephens' jumper at the top of the key tied it up 30-all with just over a minute to go, and she gave the Gators a two-point lead with another basket the next possession. The senior would account for the final six points of the half as SF State went into the break with a 34-30 lead. Palmer's big presence in the paint was key for SF State in the first half as the forward grabbed four big offensive rebounds in the first twenty minutes to help the visitors post a 21-point frame.
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The Spartans started the second half with a layup and a free throw, but Kaleigh Pugh hit a put-back layup to push the lead back to three. With just over five minutes left, Fieme'a Hafoka sunk a bucket and Analyss Benally made a three to put San Jose State back up by a pair, 40-38. However Alexander stormed back the other way to hit a corner triple to put the Purple and Gold back up by one. Following another Benally triple, Alexander responded again, this time from the other corner, with her second three-pointer as SF State now lead 45-43 with two minutes to go. The Spartans bounced back with the next four points, but with under five seconds left, Palmer grabbed an offensive board in traffic and hit the put-back layup as time expired, and Lesa-Hardee drained the pair of technical free throws to put the Gators up 50-47 to end the third.
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Stephens kicked off the fourth with layup to reach double-digits and Isabella Lamonea made a layup the next possession and give the Gators a 54-48 lead. With six remaining, Lamonea stole the ball near mid-court and hit the fast break bucket for the 58-51 lead, and Taisia Fleming nailed a jumper from the left for the 60-51 advantage and San Jose State called a timeout. The Spartans responded out the break with a three by Courtesy Clark and a layup by Raziya Potter, which narrowed the deficit to five. Clark hit another three with 3:34 remaining that cut it to two, 61-59, but SF State responded with layers by Alexander and Toni Edwards to put the Gators back up by six. Hafoka converted from deep, bringing things to 65-63, and Palmer went the other way with another layup to push it back up to four. With under a minute remaining Stephens added an insurance bucket for the 69-64 lead, and Alexander and Edwards each converted from the stripe for the 71-66 lead. SF State was able to force another Spartan turnover, their 30th of the contest, to help seal the victory.Â
 Head Coach Natasha Smith: "We still have a lot to work on, but as long as we trust that we can lean on each other and fight for each other, we will achieve all of our goals."
SF State begins the regular season this Saturday at home against Alaska Fairbanks at noon as part of the SF State Gator Invitational. Live stats and a stream will be provided.
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