SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State women's basketball team made a statement in their first game of 2020 with a dominant 77-49 victory over Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday evening at the Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza.
- The Gators (1-9/1-6 CCAA) led for the final 39 minutes.
- SF State's 56.1 percent (32-of-57) shooting was the highest of the season. The Gators started strong, going 9-of-15 (60 percent) in the first quarter and finished 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) in the fourth quarter.
- SF State allowed a season-low 49 points, the fewest since holding Cal State Monterey Bay to 48 in December 2017 win.
- SF State's defensive effort resulted in a season-low opponent shooting percentage at .318 (21-of-66) and just two assists. Notably, CSUSB was held to 10 percent (2-of-20) shooting in the second quarter.
- Offensively, four Gators reached double digits, led by a game-high and career-high 19 for Ashley Hart. Madison Corder and Taimane Lesa-Hardee both scored 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Muirae Gomez maded it a double-double with 15 rebounds, the highest single-game rebounding performance in the program since Jhaina Stephen's 17 vs. the Coyotes in December 2018.
- Corder and Gomez helped the Gators control the paint. SF State outscored CSUSB 34-20 in the paint and the Gators outrebounded the Coyotes 39-22.
- With its first win of the season, SF State snapped a nine-game losing streak this season and an 11-game losing streak dating back to March 2, 2019.
- The Gators snapped a four-game streak with 20 or more turnovers, limiting their mistakes on Thursday to 14.
The Coyotes scored on their opening possession but that was the Gators took the lead on a Lesa-Hardee three-pointer and never looked back. Gomez and Corder pushed the lead to five, though the Coyotes pulled to within a point. In the span of less than a minute, the Gators rattled off a 7-0 run that gave them some breathing room and an eight-point lead with just over three minutes left in the quarter. Kayla Bibb kept it close for CSUSB with a three-point play that trimmed the Gators' lead to three at the end of the period.
Four quick points built the lead back to seven and Samantha Erisman hit Giselle Mahinay for a three-pointer that grew the lead to nine with four and a half to go before the half. Another late CSUSB basket kept the Coyotes close at the half, 36-30, thanks to a bucket from Emily Herring. Mahinay followed another three before CSUSB scored its first bucket of the quarter with 5:28 to go.
SF State dominated the third quarter and outscored the Coyotes 20-6. Erisman, who finished with five assists, dished her fourth to Corder at the eight-minute mark for an easy layup that grew the lead to double digits. With under two minutes left in the period, Ashley Hart drove to the bucket and pulled up in the paint to make it a 20-point lead.
The Gators continued to pile on with 21 points in the fourth quarter and grew the lead to as large as 30.
The Gators return to the court on Saturday, January 4 for a 1 p.m. game versus Cal Poly Pomona, the second of four home games to begin the new year. The game will be streamed on the CCAA Network and live stats will also be available at sfstategators.com.
