The SF State women’s basketball team lost their final game of the season against their California Collegiate Athletic Association opponent Cal State LA, 72-55, despite freshman Farrah Shokoor’s game-high 17 rebounds.

The Gators, who were already eliminated from the conference tournament, ended the season 1-6 in the final seven games. They finish their season 8-20, going 7-15 in conference play. The Golden Eagles improve to 16-10 and 14-8 in conference, tied for fifth in the CCAA.

The Gators were competitive early, with 10 lead changes and three ties in the initial 15 minutes before the Golden Eagles went on a 13-2 run to end the first half, a lead they would never surrender behind Jazzi Johnson’s game-high 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.

“We talked about layups, put backs, and free throws. We didn’t do a good job at those three things,” said Gators’ head coach Joaquin Wallace. “They [Cal State LA] did a good job making layups. That’s the difference.”

The Gators shot 27 percent for the game, and had 19 turnovers, but managed to collect nine more rebounds than their opponents, 52 to 43, partially due to poor shooting that led to their 24 offensive rebounds.

“I thought the effort level was decent, it was OK in spurts,” Wallace said. “We played with a lot of energy but struggled with the fundamentals.”

Junior Michaela Booker led the Gators in scoring for the second straight game, putting in 13 points on 15 field goal attempts, going one of two at the free throw line. Shokoor had two steals and all three of the team’s blocks. She had 10 more rebounds than any other player in the game.

Sophomore Angela Van Sickel, who had 11 points on three 3-pointers and two free throws, attributed their play to a combination of nerves and individualistic play.

“We gotta play as a team, playing like individuals hurt us,” Van Sickel said. “We need to make our layups. We were a little nervous because it was our last game.”

Even though this is the final game of their 2011-12 season, Shokoor views the loss as a learning experience heading into next season.

“We know our weaknesses and I know my weaknesses,” Shokoor said. “I’m not happy with my performance, I need to step up my post game.”

As the season comes to an end, the players know they have to play better in order to stay on the team, after falling out of tournament contention in the final month of the season.

“We can’t let the same thing happen again,” Van Sickel said. “Coach was talking about making changes next season so that scared us.”