BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? It wasn't pretty, but after allowing former CCAA rival San Francisco State to hang around for the better part of the first half, CSUB's women's basketball team opened up a 13-point halftime lead on its way to earning an eventual 87-66 win Saturday afternoon in the Icardo Center.
With 10 first-half turnovers, mostly due to lazy passes, and 12 Gator offensive rebounds, the Roadrunners (5-4 overall) struggled to break free from SFSU early on. Leading just 26-24 with 6:14 remaining in the first period, the Roadrunners went on a 16-5 run to close out the half. Junior guard Kelley Tarver (Valencia HS), junior forward Rosemary Stribling (Bakersfield HS) and senior forward Naomi Johnson (Oxnard College) each took turns scoring four straight points during those final six minutes.
In the second half, the ?Runners showed more poise on the offensive end with just eight turnovers, three of those in the final two minutes of the game, and more aggression on the defensive end, allowing just six offensive boards.
The Gators attempted a run midway through the half when a pair of free throws by freshman center Dominique Hunter cut the CSUB lead to 54-46, but the ?Runners quickly responded and eventually led by as many as 25 points late in the game.
Leading the way on offense for CSUB was Johnson, who narrowly missed her third straight double-double after finishing with career-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Christine Kepenekian (Burbank HS) added 18 points while Tarver chipped in 15.
Turner led all players with 24 points, while also pulling down 11 rebounds. Junior forward Krystal Mays was the only other Gator to reach double digits, netting 10 points.
CSUB closes out its four-game homestand on Thursday, hosting the University of Nebraska at 7:00 p.m. in the Icardo Center.
CSU Bakersfield 87, San Francisco State 66
CSUB (5-4) 87: JOHNSON 8-10 3-3 19; KEPENEKIAN 7-9 3-3, 18; TARVER 3-10 9-11 15; ARASE 3-4 0-0 9; BELT 2-9 3-4 7; STRIBLING 3-5 1-2 7; CARTER 2-4 2-2 6; LEON 2-5 0-2 4; JONES 1-2 0-0 2; WEST 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 31-61 19-26 87.
SFSU (3-4) 66: HUNTER 8-12 8-13 24; MAYS 5-8 0-0 10; RODE 3-7 2-2 9; TURNER 4-7 0-0 8; BUTLER 1-6 1-2 4; BROCKEL 1-5 1-2 4; AUSTIN-BEAN 1-1 1-3 3; BROWN, A. 1-2 0-0 3; AYCOX 0-0 1-2 1; SIMPSON 0-0 0-0 0; HOUT-FREEMAN 0-10-0 0; OLIVER 0-2 0-0 0; SCHWARTZ 0-2 0-0 0; BROWN, K. 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 14-23 66.
HALFTIME: CSUB 42-29; 3-PT FG: CSUB 6-10 (ARASE 3-4; KEPENEKIAN 3-3; BELT 0-3), SFSU 4-15 (RODE 1-3; BUTLER 1-3; BROCKEL 1-4; BROWN, A. 1-1; TURNER 0-1; HOUT-FREEMAN 0-1; OLIVER 0-1; SCHWARTZ 0-1). FOULED OUT: CSUB-None SFSU-None. REBOUNDS: CSUB 32 (JOHNSON 8), SFSU 40 (HUNTER 11). ASSISTS: CSUB 17 (ARASE 5), SFSU 13 (TURNER 6). TOTAL FOULS: CSUB 17, SFSU 19. TECHNICAL FOULS: CSUB-None, SFSU-None. OFFICIALS: Kotani, Waters, Banal. ATTENDANCE-411
