SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State women's basketball team got off to a slow start and they never recovered in a 58-51 loss to Sonoma State on Saturday afternoon inside the Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza.
- Taimane Lesa-Hardee led all players with a career-high 18 points in a full 40 minutes for the Gators (1-12/1-8 CCAA).
- Muirae Gomez added 12 points.
- Giselle Mahinay led SF State with six rebounds, one short of her career high.
- Three Seawolves (10-4/6-3 CCAA) reached double digits. Ugochi Anudokem, Sophie Northern, and Serena Santos all had 12 points apiece.
- The Gators forced 20 Seawolves turnovers.
- SF State lost the rebounding battle 40-21. That proved important, as SSU scored 19 second-chance points.
- The Gators went 1-4 on the homestand and will set out on the road for their next two contests.
The Gators never recovered from a slow start. They shot 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) in the first quarter but trailed by just five, 11-6, at the end of the quarter.
SF State's shooting woes carried into the second quarter, though the Gators were outscored by just a point in the period and trailed by seven at the half.
Mahinay started the quarter with a jumper that cut the lead to five but the Seawolves countered with a 5-0 run that grew their lead to 10 at the eight-minute mark. The deficit grew to as large as 15 before the Gators cut it back to nine.
Sonoma State built its lead back to as large as 19 before the Gators went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to a dozen. SF State finished on another 7-0 run and held the Seawolves scoreless for the final three and a half minutes but time ran out on the Gators.
The Gators hit the road for both games next week. On Thursday, January 16, they'll head to Cal State East Bay, then head south to Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, January 18.
