LOS ANGELES - A 29-point second quarter and a late fourth quarter push guided the San Francisco State women's basketball team to a 87-85 victory over host Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon for their fifth consecutive victory, which is the longest streak since the 2009-10 season.
- Toni Edwards had a career best 14 assists, which is the most by a Gator since 2011, the most recorded in the CCAA this year, and tied-for-the sixth-most logged in the NCAA this season. She also added 12 points for her first career double-double.
- Isabella Lamonea scored 19, which ties a career best, for her sixth double-digit scoring performance of the year and made five three-pointers. Madison Corder scored a career high ten points and added five boards off the bench.
- Amani Alexander scored 16 points and added two steals, and Jhaina Stephens added 15 to round out the double-digit scoring for SF State.
- Five Gators were in double figures for the second-straight contest.
- Kaleigh Pugh scored six and led SF State (7-7/6-3 CCAA) with six rebounds.
- The win matches SF State's road win total from last year, and is the first road victory against the Golden Eagles since 2014 (five contests).
- The 87 points scored are the second most allowed by Cal State Los Angeles (6-6/3-5 CCAA), who boasts the fifth-best defense in the CCAA with just 63.4 PPG, and the second most scored by the Gators this campaign.
- The Gators shot 45.6 percent (31-68), the second-best mark recorded this year, and the 31 field goals made are t-seventh-most since the 2011 season.
Edwards tied it up early, 2-2, with a pair from the free-throw line. Trailing 6-4, Stephens received the pass from Danielle Palmer and made a nice spin move in the paint that led to a jumper to tie things up once again. The hosts pulled ahead 11-6 following three consecutive free throws with 6:14 left in the first. The Golden Eagles pushed their lead to 18-8 after a Madison Adams three, and pushed their advantage to 13 before Stephens made a layup to stop the run. The senior added another as she battled through the lane with a contested jumper under the basket that made cut it to eight, but Christine Delapina drained a three-pointer with nine second left to regain the double-digit lead, 24-13.
Alexander sparked a run to start the second with a layup, and contributed an assist to Lamonea who made her first three-pointer of the day. Lamonea then drained another three off a pass from Edwards, and Edwards added a basket of her own the next possession to make it a two-point game, 26-24. Pugh kept the momentum going as she tied things up to erase the 11-point Golden Eagle lead at the start of the frame and cap off a 13-2 run. Alexander tied it up 29-all with a splash near the top of the key. Corder gave SF State its first lead of the day with a bucket making it 33-31, and, following a Los Angeles jumper, Lamonea hit another three-pointer to widen the advantage. Down one, Corder regained the one-point lead with two from the charity stripe, and Lamonea gave the Purple and Gold another three-point lead with a jumper just outside the key to reach double digit scoring. Los Angeles cut it to one, 42-41, at the end of the half on Jolene Robinson's jumper in the closing minute. SF State scored 29 points in the quarter on 46 percent (11-of-24) shooting, and were 4-of-6 from deep.
Lamonea made her fourth three-pointer to start the second half and put SF State up 47-43, and Stephens followed with a jumper to reach double figures. The Golden Eagles battled back with a 6-0 run to go up 53-51 midway through the quarter, but Alexander made her fifth field goal of the day which came on a deep jumper to tie things up. The hosts remained a perfect 11-of-11 from the line as Chiderah Uzowuru made a pair to reagin a two-point lead following a media timeout. Corder brought SF State to within two with her third basket of the game, but the hosts got the basket right back as they went up 59-55. With 1:08 left, Los Angeles pulled ahead 64-56 on their third triple of the contest as part of a 7-1 run. Edwards beat the buzzer with a drive to the basket and finish as SF State now trailed just 67-59 going into the fourth.
Stephens began the fourth with a free throw and a jumper to cut it to five. Trailing 68-62, Lamonea dropped in her fifth three-pointer of the day, which came from the right side off Edward's tenth assist of the afternoon. With 7:19 left Stephens kept it rolling with another bucket off an assist from Edwards as the Gators now only trailed by one, and Pugh hit a two for the 69-68 lead as part of a 7-0 run. The back-and-forth continued with both teams tied up 77-all with 1:19 left but Palmer made two from the free throw line for the late lead, and Alexander added an insurance basket to go up 81-77 with 46 seconds left. Lamonea went a perfect 2-for-2 from the line with 27 seconds left, but Adams countered with a three-pointer with 19 seconds to go that narrowed their deficit to 85-82. Edwards iced the game with four seconds left, making the Golden Eagle buzzer-beating three ineffective in the victory.
The Golden Gators return to Northern California as they travel to Sonoma State on January 12 at 1 p.m. Live stats and a stream will be provided.
