February 18, 2009

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO – Sophomore #LaShawn Johnson# led the Otters with 11 points as the Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team defeated rival San Francisco State, 49-40, at the Main Gymnasium.

The Otters improved to 10-13 overall and 5-12 in CCAA play.

Senior #Dana Andrews# pulled down a game-high 11 boards and junior #Helen Suarez# added eight points and five assists.

The Gators jumped out to a 9-0 lead with the Otters not scoring until the 13th minute on a layup by freshman #Devin Riezebos#.  CSUMB's offense caught fire by going on a 12-0 run, taking a 14-12 lead at 6:21 mark on a jumper by Johnson. 

Junior #Anna Pineda#'s 3-pointer gave the Otters a 20-19 advantage into intermission.

After both teams traded leads to begin the second half, junior #Denelle Baker# made back-to-back layups to open the gap to 42-34 at the 6:39 minute-mark.  Suarez's 3-pointer with the shot clock running out raised the Otter lead to 45-34.  Johnson's trey from the top of the key extended the lead to 48-36.

The CSUMB defense prevented SFSU from making a single 3-pointer while the Otters connected on three important ones in the second half.

“We were struggling a bit on the boards and having a tough time finding our rhythm offensively, but in the end it was our defense that got the win,” said Otters head coach Renee Jimenez. “Throughout the season we have kept a focus on putting defense first, and tonight it paid off.”

The Otters travel down to UC San Diego on Saturday for their final road game of the regular season. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m.