LOS ANGELES – Despite showing some tough defense and a comeback attempt, Humboldt State struggled to find the basket Friday night against Cal State Los Angeles and ultimately fell 71-57 to the Golden Eagles.

With the loss, the Jacks drop to 9-2 overall, 5-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Cal State L.A. improves to 7-4 overall, 5-2 in conference action.

"I think it was a really good Cal State L.A. team and a really bad Humboldt State team tonight," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "They did a lot of things to get us out of it. They were physical and aggressive. Our guards missed some shots and then got hesitant and you can't have that."

The Jacks only shot at 25-percent from the field, going 19-for-76, and struggled to finish free throws to make up for the missed layups and jumpshots.

"We had our worst shooting night and probably worst all-around offensive night of the year," said Gleason. "By committing 20 turnovers, you're never going to beat anyone in the CCAA. We definitely need to clean that up."

Even though the basket did not seem to be on HSU's side, three Jacks scored in double digits, including two double-doubles. Whitney Howard had a monster night with 12 points and 13 boards. Bree Halsey also came up big for the Jacks, shooting 6-for-10 from the field for 13 points along with 11 rebounds. Kayla Williams finished the game with 11 points and six assists.

Jazzi Johnson had no trouble finding the basket and picked up 17 points on the night, followed closely by Tessondra Williams with 16 points. Lacey Gibbons also scored in double figures, grabbing 13 points. Lacy Ramon snagged a game-high 15 rebounds off the boards for the Golden Eagles.

Howard scored the first point of the match for the Jacks off a free throw, but while HSU struggled to find the basket and keep the ball, Cal State L.A. shot 13-for-26 in the first half, claiming a 13-point lead heading into halftime.

Humboldt State came out of the halftime hoping to regain its composure of the game, with Halsey scoring the first layup of the second half, but could only bring the game within seven points. At one point, the Jacks even found themselves trailing by 18 points with just over 10 minutes left to play.

Something must have sparked for HSU as the Jacks went on an eight-point run to close the Golden Eagles' gap and bring the game within nine, but the fire wasn't enough to complete the comeback as missed shots and turnovers continued to plague the Jacks. 

"Our shot selection wasn't good as well as our ability to take care of the ball," said Gleason. "Our focus for the night was on limiting turnovers and keeping CSULA off the line, and we didn't do either of those two things."

The Jacks look to bounce back in less than 24 hours as they face Cal State Dominguez Hills—who found their first CCAA win Friday against Sonoma State—Saturday night.

"We go in to play a CSUDH team that's struggling and the easiest thing to do is think it's going to be a cakewalk, but it's not," said Gleason.