SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - The San Francisco State women's basketball team dropped their CCAA/PacWest Challenge opener to Fresno Pacific, 78-61 on Friday night.

By the Numbers

• SF State goes to 1-2 on the young season while Fresno Pacific improves to 2-1.
• Alexsandra Alvarado paced the Gators with 14 points, and was 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe. The guard added four rebounds and four assists.
• Seilala Lautaimi was a board away from a double-double as the senior had 13 points and nine rebounds.
• Sage Bridges-Bey poured in eight points with eight rebounds.
• The Gators had 13 steals in the effort, the second time this season they've recorded double-digit steals. SF State was out-rebounded  61-37 by the Sunbirds, 41 of which came on the defensive end.

How It Happened

Ana Daniels got SF State on the board on a jumper off a dish from Bridges-Bey, one of her three buckets on the night. Bridges-Bey put the Gators up 4-3 a few possessions later with 7:20 left in the first, and Daniels capped off a 9-0 run midway through the frame. The Sunbirds stormed back with a 7-2 run to tie things up at 13-all, and carried a 22-16 lead following three triples after one. 

Nana Asiasi poured in a three in the second, narrowing the deficit to 25-21, but Fresno Pacific got it right back with 5:55 left in the half to push their lead to 30-21. Kali Myers and Asiasi each hit three pointers to cut into the Sunbird lead, and Bridges-Bey hit a layup with six seconds left to make it an 11-point game heading into the break.

The Gators won the third quarter with 19 points while holding Sunbirds to just 17. Bridges-Bey knocked down another three off an assist from Alvarado in the early going, and Alvarado went on to score five straight for the Gators in the closing minutes of the third. The Sunbirds got back-to-back buckets to begin the fourth, pushing their lead to 64-50, and closed things out on a 5-2 run to record the win, 78-61.

Up Next

SF State wraps up the CCAA/PacWest Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. versus host Dominican. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com, and fans can tune in to the action at Dominicanathletics.com.