HAYWARD, Calif. – Down the entire regulation against Cal State East Bay, the San Francisco State women's basketball team erupted in the fourth to outscore the Pioneers 32-9 and force overtime. Sage Bridges-Bey scored five of the Gators' seven points in overtime and the Gators picked up their first conference win of the season with a 80-77 victory.
- The Gators head to the break with a 3-6 record and 1-3 in the CCAA. The game was the third straight overtime game with East Bay and the first one the Gators came out on top. East Bay falls to 3-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
- Bridges-Bey scored a season-high 20 points. Geriah Bradley and Alexsandra Alvarado also scored in double figures.
- SF State won the turnover battle 25-16 and stole the ball 15 times in the process while scoring 30 points off turnovers. East Bay turned the ball over 10 times in the fourth quarter. Nyana Asiasi and Alvarado each had four steals.
- The Gators went 18-for-25 from the line including 9-for-10 in the fourth.
- East Bay dominated the Gators on the boards 60-32.
- The Pioneer's Ariyah Smith had 19 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists.
A dominate presence on the glass led to an early lead for the Pioneers in the first quarter as East Bay grabbed 18 rebounds to the Gators' four. Down 26-13 at the start of the second quarter, the Gators were able to keep pace with the Pioneers and cut the deficit to nine early in the quarter. The Pioneers outscored the Gators in the second frame and held a 48-31 lead heading into the third quarter.
The Pioneers led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter as the Gators struggled to get anything going. SF State flipped the switch in the fourth quarter and went 11-for-14 from the field to engineer a comeback. Bradley led the way with 10 points in the fourth before fouling out with 1:50 to go. Down by four with 55 seconds left, Asiasi was fouled and made both shots to make it a one possession game. East Bay had a chance to ice the game with 13 seconds left and Smith at the line, but she missed both shots and Bridges-Bey drew a foul and made both shots to send the game to overtime.
Bridges-Bey came up clutch on the line with 1:19 remaining in overtime and made both baskets to put the Gators' up 80-77. East Bay turned the ball over on an offensive foul and could not make a basket on the next two possessions.
The Gators next play at home in 2025 when they host Sonoma State on January 2 at 5:30 pm. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com, and fans can tune in to the action on Flo College.
