ARCATA, Calif. – A balanced No. 25 ranked Humboldt State women's basketball team built an early lead and eased past San Francisco State, 85-61, Saturday night in Lumberjack Arena.
 
The Lumberjacks ran out to a 24-5 advantage over the first 11 minutes and never led by fewer than 15 points the rest of the contest. Five HSU players netted double figures led by Jae Shin and Amanda Kunst's 17 and 16 points, respectively.
 
"We came out in the first half and played our style of ball," said HSU Head Coach Joddie Gleason. "San Francisco State played hard and made a little run in the second half. We responded and picked up our intensity."
 
HSU improved to 17-2 on the season and a California Collegiate Athletic Association-leading 13-1, one more league win than a year ago. San Francisco State dropped to 0-18 on the year and 0-14 in the conference.
 
As it was two nights ago, Shin had another quality shooting night. The shooting guard downed five treys and hit 6-of-11 shots for 17 points. For the week, Shin connected on 11-of-17 attempts from 3-point range, a 64.7 percent clip, and scored 41 points.
 
"When I am having a big night, Kersey (Wilcox) always has a big night with assists," said Shin.
 
Wilcox handed out eight helpers to only one turnover. The point guard added eight points.
 
Kunst tied her career-high with 16 points, 10 in the first half. The McKinleyville, Calif., product made 5-of-7 shots and a career-best three 3-pointers in four tries. She added six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
"My shots are finally falling as the team did a great job setting me up," said Kunst.
 
"Amanda is a great player, who started games for us last year. She could easily start for us and come in at any time," said Gleason. "It is huge to have that depth. It is tough for defenders to matchup when a team has the depth like we have."
 
HSU's inside game was strong Saturday night. The Jacks outrebounded the Gators, 49-27, including a 34-17 margin on the defensive boards.
 
"One of our main focuses was rebounding. We knew we had a size advantage," said Gleason. "We have a goal of how many we want to allow them to get and how many we want to have."
 
The Jacks' inside presence – Nikki Powell, A'Jaee Foster and the return of All-CCAA center Megan Shields – combined for 31 points and 31 rebounds.
 
Powell and Foster both finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds apiece. Foster added six assists and three steals.
 
In her first action in almost two weeks, Shields contributed 11 points and eight boards in 21 minutes.
 
"We were excited to have Megan back. It was like a family member was missing," said Gleason.
 
San Francisco State's Jasmine Flanagan and Michelle Sutton led its effort with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
 
HSU heads on the road next week for games at Cal State Los Angeles Friday and Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday. Both games start at 5:30 p.m.


-GoJacks-