SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State women's basketball team opened CCAA play with a tough 75-71 overtime loss to visiting Cal State East Bay on Saturday inside the Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza.
- The Gators fall to 2-4 and 0-1 in CCAA play on the year while CSUEB improves to 2-4 overall and 1-0 in CCAA action.
- Ana Daniels and Nyana Asiasi both had a team-high 16 points. Alexsandra Alvarado added nine points. All three of the Gators' top scorers fouled out.
- Daniels led all players with nine rebounds, though the Gators lost the rebounding battle 44-34.
- Taylor Eldredge led all players with 20 points for the Pioneers. Ariyah Smith scored 16 points and Lailah Carey scored a dozen points.
- SF State outshot CSUEB 48.1 percent (26-of-54) to 41.2 percent (28-of-68), but the Pioneers had more made field goals and were a perfect 4-of-4 in overtime.
The lead changed six times in the first quarter and a dozen times in the first half. The Pioneers led 14-11 after the first 10 minutes but SF State grabbed a 28-27 halftime lead after Asiasi's three-pointer but the Gators in front with two minutes to go in the half.
In the third quarter, the Pioneers went up by as large as seven but another Asiasi bucket put the Gators up one with just over two minutes to go in the quarter. Kelsey Valencia's three-pointer and Krista Sheaffer's fastbreak layup put the Pioneers back up three but Geriah Bradley connected with Kali Myers for a game-tying three-pointer to make it 44-44 at the end of the third.
The Pioneers never trailed in the fourth quarter. Asiasi committed her fifth foul near the sideline and Eldredge missed her first free throw but sank the second to make it a two-point game. However, Alvarado drew a foul and made both free throws to tie the game with 35 seconds left in regulation. The Pioneers committed a shot clock violation with just five seconds remaining, though it was initially ruled that the Gators recovered the ball, then traveled. Upon review, it was ruled that the shot clock expired before the Gators gained possession. The Gators called timeout to advance the ball but Alvarado was whistled for a charge as time expired. More costly was the fact that it was Alvarado's fifth foul.
The Gators led 69-68 with 2:15 to go but the Pioneers answered with a 6-0 run for a 74-69 advantage. Seilala Lautaimi made a layup with 17 seconds to go but Ariyah Smith made one of two free throws, and a last-possession three-pointer by the Gators didn't fall.
The Gators' CCAA schedule takes them on the road for the next couple of games to Cal Poly Humboldt and Chico State. They'll begin at Cal Poly Humboldt on Thursday, December 5 for a 5:30 p.m. game. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com, and fans can tune in to the action on FloCollege.
