Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO – Humboldt State played some of the best defense its shown this season, setting numerous records in a 51-34 victory over San Francisco State.
The Jacks only gave up 18 points in the first half, breaking their previous record of 19 points surrendered at half, and carried the defensive momentum through the second half, setting a new record of giving up the fewest points in a half at 16. There's also the fact that the Gators scored the fewest points on the Jacks this year in a game.
HSU continues on a four-game winning streak, improving to 17-6 overall and 13-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Gators fall to 7-18 on the season and 6-13 in conference.
What started out as a close contest, soon tipped in the favor of the Jacks as HSU poured on the defensive pressure, grabbing 13 steals. The Jacks held SFSU to just a 21 percent shooting effort from the field. Out of 12 Gators, only Lauren Varney scored more than one basket in the run of play, shooting 5-for-11 from inside the arc.
"It was a great all-around defensive effort tonight," said head coach
Joddie Gleason. "Our coaches did a really good job of comparing us with film breakdown and the players did a good job of executing our scout by forcing the Gators out of what they wanted to do and making them do what they didn't want to do."
Gleason knew one of the keys to walking away with the victory was to rebound as a team, which they did to out-rebound the Gators 45-41.
Bree Halsey posted her seventh double-double of the season with 10 rebounds and 11 points to lead the team in rebounding for the 15th time this season. Other Jacks were getting in the mix as well,
Lisa Petty grabbed seven rebounds,
Kayla Williams snatched six and
Whitney Howard posted five off the boards.
"Rebounding is always integral part of the game," said Gleason. "It often comes down to which team rebounds better. Bree is always in there for us, but we need to remind everyone else Bree can't get all of them. I thought we did a better job of that today."
As a team, the Jacks struggled slightly on offense, shooting 31 percent, but three players scored in double-figures to give HSU the win. Petty led the Jacks in scoring with 14 points, while Halsey and Williams both finished with 11 points.
"We definitely had a poor shooting night," said Gleason. "We missed several layups, and shots on the perimeter, but for some reason we couldn't finish easy ones on transition. However, it was nice to see us continue to defend when our offense was struggling."
The Jacks opened the game with a five-point run off a three-pointer from
Caitie Richards and a layup from Petty to give HSU a lead it only surrendered once all game.
SFSU, led by Varney's 11 points, grabbed its only lead of the match nine minutes into the game off a layup from Varney to put the Gators up 8-7. The lead didn't last long, however, as the Jacks turned around with another five-point run to put them up 12-8. HSU continued to press and went on a seven-point run to end the half at 25-18.
From the start of the second half, the Jacks continued to take control of the game. Due to a technical, Petty sunk two free throw shots to initiate a nine-point run to give HSU a 16-point cushion. The Gators didn't score a basket in the run of play until nine minutes into the half off a jumper from Kayla Davis.
The Jacks grabbed a 19-point lead with just under four minutes left to play as Halsey finished her two shots from the line. The Gators cut the lead to 16 off a free throw shot and Samantha Campos' and-one situation, grabbing an offensive board and putting it in the basket.
As the minutes wound down, however, the Gators couldn't score any more points as the Jacks kept SFSU to its lowest score of the season.
Humboldt State heads further south to face the Cal Poly Pomona team two spots above the Jacks in the West Regional Rankings on Saturday, Feb. 18. CPP currently sits in the No. 7 spot, while HSU is in the ninth position. The Broncos beat the Jacks earlier this year in a close overtime 83-79 result.
"We're trying to go game by game," said Gleason. "Getting this was a huge win, but now it's time to prepare for Cal Poly Pomona. It's a big game for us down there. It's going to be a battle and we're going to go down there to redeem ourselves from the earlier loss."
In other CCAA games: Cal Poly Pomona beat Sonoma State 70-58. The rest of the CCAA teams play Friday night.
