SEASIDE, Calif. — The San Francisco State women's basketball team fell short of victory in a 78-72 loss to Academy of Art as part of the CCAA/PacWest Crossover tournament.
- The Gators started Alexsandra Alvarado, Ana Daniels, Sage Bridges-Bey, Seilala Lautaimi and Nyana Asiasi in the season opener.
- Alvarado, a All-CCAA Second Team Selection from last season, led the way with 22 points. Newcomer Daniels scored 18 points and recorded eight rebounds and six steals in her Gator debut.
- SF State showed good improvement on the boards in game one and out rebounded the Urban Knights 42-37. This included a 21-9 advantage on offensive rebounds.
- While the Gators forced 30 turnovers off 15 steals, the Urban Knights finished the game with a 53.7 shooting percentage.
- Alba Rovira Ayuso scored 20 points in 16 minutes of action for ART U.
It was a tale of two quarters between the first and second quarter. Tied 7-7 midway through the first quarter, ART U outscored the Gators 16-5 to close out the quarter. Despite forcing nine turnovers by the Golden Knights, the Gators turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter. SF State clamped down on defense in the second quarter and held the Urban Knights to 2-for-12 from the field. Gators took their first lead of the second quarter at 26-24 with a lay-up by Sage Bridges-Bey with 5:31 to go.
The Gators took their largest lead in the third with a three-point basket by Bridges-Bay to lead 47-40. The Urban Knights chipped away at the Gator's lead and reclaimed the lead with 1:23 left in the quarter. Geriah Bradley launched a three on the Gators' final possession of the quarter to go up 57-55.
Tied at 66 all with 3:43 left to go, ART U went on a 8-0 run that saw the Gators go 0-5 from the field. With eight second remaining, Daniels scored on three pointer and one to cut the lead to 76-72 but time was not in the Gators' favor to complete the comeback.
The Gators play Menlo College November 9 at 1 p.m. to close out the tournament. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com, and fans can tune in on FloHoops.
