ARCATA, Calif.--- After suffering their fourth and fifth consecutive losses this past weekend, the Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks will look to bounce back in front of their home crowd at Lumberjack Arena on Thursday and Saturday when they will face off against San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay. Both tip-offs are slated for 5:30 p.m. 

The Lumberjacks (6-10, 4-8 CCAA) dropped a pair of games last weekend against third place Cal Poly Pomona (12-4, 9-3 CCAA) and Cal State San Bernardino (10-8, 5-7 CCAA) to drop ninth in the conference standings. As the 'Jacks prepare to officially kick off the second half of the regular season, head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson said she is glad to do so back at Lumberjack Arena. 

"It's always nice to play in Lumberjack Arena," Bento-Jackson said. "Not just the facility, but in front of our fan base. It's certainly a good feeling to be here this week practicing at our own gym."

Sara Ahmadpour played the most consistent for the North Coast squad last weekend. The junior from San Marcos, California averaged 16 points a game off the bench and was the team's leading scorer in their game against Pomona. She currently ranks fifth in the conference in 3-point percentage and fifth in 3-point field goals per game. 

"I told her that I thought those were the best two back-to-back games that she's put together this season," Bento-Jackson said. "Not just from her shooting ability, but she was attacking the basket. She was on the boards. She got herself to the free throw line and just showed a level of toughness that I really hadn't seen in her yet. Of course, the expectations are that she carries that over into this week's practices and games."

San Francisco State (7-11, 3-9 CCAA)
The Gators come into Thursday's game on a losing streak of their own, having dropped their last four contest, and sit just one game behind the Lumberjacks in the CCAA standings. They are led by Mya Blake, who averages just over 15 points per game and scored a career high 27 points in last weekend's game against Chico State. The 'Jacks will look to avenge their 59-56 loss to San Francisco earlier this month. 

"We know exactly what to expect from San Francisco State," the coach said. "This week in practice, I continue to say that there's just too much slippage and mistakes on our area, regardless of if it's against San Francisco, Monterey Bay or San Bernardino last week. There's just certain things that we have to improve upon. We know Mya Blake's coming off her career high game of 27 points last weekend. We have just got to be a lot more efficient on the defensive end."

Cal State Monterey Bay (5-12, 1-11 CCAA)
The Otters earned their first conference victory of the season last week with a big 93-63 blowout over Stanislaus State. Lauryn Pointer leads the team averaging 14.8 points per game while Mikayla Mabie sits second in the conference in assists per game. 

Saturday's game will also be the team's annual Dam Worth It game, which raises awareness to help destigmatize mental health through the influential platform of sport. There will be a brief presentation before the game and tabling and activities during the game and at halftime. 

"I'm just really proud of our department and our students who have really got this going and have jumped on Dam Worth It just to bring awareness not just to our student-athletes, but our fan base, the community and just the importance of mental health," the coach said. "I know a lot of schools across the country don't necessarily do it, and just like I said, I'm really proud of our students and our department for making it a priority."

Both games this weekend tip-off at 5:30 p.m. at Lumberjack Arena.

For more information on Cal Poly Humboldt women's basketball, please visit humboldtathletics.com and follow us on all social media platforms.