San Francisco State University’s women’s basketball team secured their win versus the University of California, Merced Bobcats in the fourth quarter by scoring 16 points and holding a lockdown defense.
The Gators previously lost to the Bobcats on the road on Jan. 17. The team came into Thursday’s game aggressively.
“We knew we needed to rebound, which we did, we won the rebound game and we needed to play together,” said junior guard Athena Brombacher. “I feel like that second half we played a lot more together, and that’s how we were able to score.”
The first quarter started with three missed shots from the Gators. The Bobcats scored the first points of the game, but junior guard Leilani Blecha answered with a 3-pointer. The Bobcats proceeded to go on a 9-point run.
The Gators came back and tied the game with 31 seconds left in the first quarter, ending with the Bobcats leading 15-13 following two completed free throws after a foul by Brombacher.
The second quarter was scoreless for the first five minutes with both teams making multiple steals and turnovers. The Gators played fast and hard, but missed opportunities to put the ball in the basket. A layup from Bobcats junior guard Sarina Nagra ended the scoring drought.
After a rebound off of Brombacher, junior guard Simone Murray scored a 3-pointer assisted by junior guard Deonna Mayfield.
The game was back and forth, with the Bobcats still leading towards the end of the quarter. The Gators caught back up with two 3-pointers to catch back up. Murray then got a steal and on her fastbreak she was fouled, scoring an additional two points for the Gators entering halftime with a 27–26 lead over their visitors.
Junior center Malea Scobie explained how the team studied the Bobcats’ defense during practice, benefiting them in this game.
“I feel like we were really able to come together and we were able to execute,” Scobie said.
The Gators had a quick start to the third quarter, with two layups from Brombacher and a 3-pointer from junior forward Tegan Gaines giving the team a six-point lead.
“We just told them to shoot with confidence and to make adjustments to your shot, if it’s too long or too short,” said head coach Moné Peoples. “Just let it fly, move the ball, get the ball inside out and we’ll be okay.”
The Gators answered the Bobcats tying the game up by going on a 10-point run. The Bobcats remained closely behind due to steals and turnovers, down by just one point with one minute. Junior guard Gianna Darté scored a 3-pointer ending the third quarter with a four-point lead for the Gators.
“We knew we had to lock down on defense because I think a lot of their players were getting too comfortable, so just making sure we lock down our man and then hitting our shots, which I think we did very well in the second half,” Brombacher said.
Murray scored the first 3-pointer of the quarter following an exchange of steals from both teams. Remaining scoreless from the 7:28 minute mark, the Bobcats scored again with just under two minutes left, with the Gators leading by 13 points.
With one additional 3-point shot by the Bobcats, they couldn’t catch up with the surging Gators, who ran away with the game with a 63-53 triumph.
Despite the Gators’ only obtaining seven wins they are planning to continue to have fun, work on their craft and their execution, assistant coach Daron Sims explained.
“It’s been fun, obviously we’ve had kind of a down year, but I think just striving to be better as coaches and players for next year,” said Sims. “That’s the beautiful thing about basketball, you can always get better and that’s the fun part for me.”
The Gators will head into their last game of the season this Saturday against California State University, Stanislaus at 1 p.m. at the Swamp.
