Gators women’s basketball lost 59-58 against Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks on Feb. 15. This was their third-to-last home game of their 2024 to 2025 regular season.

Both teams were 7-10 against conference opponents and the Lumberjacks were building off of a three-game win streak. The visitors collected their second straight regular season road win after Saturday’s game and their game against the Cal State East Bay Pioneers on Feb. 13. 

The Gators had a 3-5 record on their home court and the visiting Lumberjacks were 2-7 on the road, according to both of their athletics pages. The home team entered “The Swamp” on Saturday afternoon after winning three of their previous five games. Those three victories were on the road against the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters, the Cal State Stanislaus Warriors and the Sonoma State Seawolves.

Gators head coach Moné Peoples said their three victories on the road were a driving force for the Gators as they returned home this week. 

“We’re really resilient, so when we’re on the road when no one thinks we can win and the fans are not on our side, it really fuels us,” Peoples said. “We play a lot harder. We do a lot of the little things. We just use things that make us uncomfortable as extra motivation.” 

After winning the opening tipoff, the Lumberjacks opened the game with four consecutive points off of free throws before the Gators responded with a 9-1 run to lead 9-5 at the first commercial timeout. The Lumberjacks regained the score of the game, but the Gators cut the 14-9 lead down to 16-15, including a 3-pointer from redshirt junior guard Alley Alvarado to end the quarter. 

The Gators turned the tide early in the second quarter and kept ahead of their visitors. The Lumberjacks wouldn’t come close until they tied the game at 27 heading into halftime. 

Alvarado led the Gators with 11 points and four assists after two quarters. She and senior guard Ana Daniels combined for 20 of the team’s 27 total points. 

“My team puts so much trust in me to have the confidence to shoot, to score the points I need to score,” Alvarado said. “That just gives me the feeling to be able to provide for my team.”

The Lumberjacks and Gators were neck and neck in the third quarter, both teams exchanging two-point leads as time went by. The Lumberjacks ended the quarter 41-40 after their scoring run was cut by sophomore guard Geriah Bradley’s jump shot to end it. 

Both teams scored 18 points each in the fourth quarter and Alvarado scored the last two buckets for the Gators from deep to end the game 59-58. 

“We fought hard. We left it out there,” Peoples said. “We came up short. We had some lapses in our execution, but it’s some things we can clean up. We’re a tough team and these are the games where it comes really close, it comes down to execution. We’ll get back at it next time.” 

Alvarado scored 9 more points in the second half for the Gators, but combined with Daniels’ 12 points and they scored 21 of the team’s 31 total second-half points.

Until the clock hit zero, the Gators didn’t stop pushing. 

“In our head, we’re all dogs at the end of the day,” Alvarado said. “The game isn’t over until there’s zero seconds left on the clock.” 

Daniels said the team will look to improve on executions in late-game situations. However, her confidence in herself and the team never wavers at any point. 

“I felt like we was gon’ win the whole game even when it went down to 0.5 seconds,” Daniels said. “I still stay confident in the team. The confidence never drops with us because, with us, anything can happen. We always have a high chance to have a positive outcome.” 

Daniels’ second half put her as the leading scorer for the home squad with 21 points, ahead of Alvarado’s 20 points. She credits her team’s trust in her for fueling her confidence.

“The last couple of games, I’ve struggled offensively and the number one thing is that the team still believes in me,” Daniels said. “That’s what gave me the confidence coming into the game. They just believe in me, and for that, I feel like I have to repay them with success.”

Bradley led the team’s rebounds with seven, three offensive rebounds and four defensive rebounds. Bradley said each of those key rebounds were an important “boost” for the team.

“I try my best to give us energy on the court and be a dictator on the court,” Bradley said. “Forcing turnovers and getting the rebounds helps give us energy. When we’re tired, we get a good steal, we’re turn’t up.” 

Peoples said Bradley is the kind of athlete who puts it all on the line for everyone on the team and describes her as the “X factor” of the squad. 

“Hustle plays like that from Geriah are extremely important to the team,” Peoples said. “It’s the difference between a win and loss in a lot of cases. For me, it’s a spark. It’s a momentum changer. It’s something that we absolutely need and it fuels the rest of the team to play hard.”

The Gators will visit the number 21 ranked Cal Poly Pomona Broncos at Kellogg Arena on Feb. 20 and the San Marcos State Cougars at Coussoulis Arena on Feb. 22. 

The team will look to steal some more games to be contenders and more competitive, Peoples said. They will take it practice by practice, game by game. 

“Even though we’re coming off a loss here, we still have an upward trajectory,” Peoples said. “We have a lot of momentum. We’re playing really well. We go out and make sure we give them all the tools possible to go out and win games.” 

For Daniels, acknowledging that the regular season is almost over leaves a “bittersweet” feeling for the senior guard. 

“It’s something I never want to end, but everything does have to come to an end,” Daniels said. “Right now, I’m just focusing on what I have now and then eventually get to the next chapter.”

As Peoples looks back on the “whirlwind of a season” they’ve had, there’s beyond the record for the coach. As it comes down to the final games, the coach feels nothing short of confidence and proud for the squad. 

“Win or lose, we play hard,” Peoples said. “When we leave it all out there, we can beat teams that people think we shouldn’t. We can hold our own with teams we are definitely better than. We have a great group of girls and I’m behind them 100%.”

Editor’s note: The photo captions have been updated for accuracy.