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SAN FRANCISCO – The visiting Nebraska-Kearney 'Lopers (2-1) held off a late rally by the SF State Gators to spoil the Gators' home opener, 67-57. SF State lost despite forcing 30 turnovers by its guests while recording 19 steals including a career high 7 by
Farrah Shokoor.
“Our focus was not where it needed to be this afternoon,” said SF State head coach Dr. Joaquin Wallace. “Nebraska-Kearney had a ton of energy, which was critical in their ability to close the game out.”
Four 'Lopers scored in double digits led by Shelby Zimmerman with her 15 points while Ivy Jones added 13 points and 6 assists. Laramey Lewis chipped in 12 points and Sarah Hix added 11 points for Nebraska-Kearney, who shot 57% from the field including 50% from three-point land.
SF State (1-1) jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, but the 'Lopers went on a 7-7 run capped by a Lewis lay-up to tie the game at 11. Sarah Hix's three gave the visitors an 18-14 lead with nine minutes left in the half.
Nebraska-Kearney increased its lead to 30-19 on a Shelby Zimmerman lay-up with less than a minute to go in the first stanza.
The Gators finished the half on a 5-0 run capped by a three by
Angela Van Sickel off an assist from
Desiree Collins to send the game into the half with a Nebraska-Kearney 30-24 lead.
The 'Lopers came out strong early in the second half as they outscored their hosts 18-10 in the first seven minutes to take a 48-34, their largest of the game.
Nicole Hicks' jumper off an assist from
Shalane Jackson capped an 11-0 run by the Gators to cut their deficit to 48-45 with 9:20 to go in the second half.
The Gators cut the 'Lopers' lead to 52-51 on a
Lauren Varney jumper off a pass from
Jennifer Le with 5:31 left in regulation, but Nebraska-Kearney scored the next five points of the game to increase its lead to 57-51.
SF State would not give up as they cut the 'Loper lead to 57-55 with four minutes left as
Farrah Shokoor rebounded her own missed shot.
Once again, Nebraska-Kearney increased its lead back to 60-55 with 2:32 but
Angela Van Sickel scored on a lay-up to cut the lead to 60-57 with 2:04 to go.
The 'Lopers sealed the game in the final two minutes as they connected on 7 of their 8 attempts from the charity stripe including Ivy Jones going a perfect 4-for-4 as they recorded the 67-57 victory.
Angela Van Sickel paced the Gators with a game high 17 points while
Nicole Hicks added 16 points for SF State, who shot just 36% from the field.
The Gators were just 6-for-15 from the charity stripe while Nebraska-Kearney connected on 12 of their 15 attempts from the line.
“We stress three areas lay-ups, put backs and free throws and we have to knock down our free throws,” added Wallace.
The hosts did record 19 steals besides Shokoor's;
Jennifer Le had a season high 6.
SF State will open up its conference season next week with a home and away series with Sonoma State. The two teams will face each other this Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 6pm at the Swamp on SF State's campus. Then a week from today, they will face each other in the Wolves' Den on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 2pm in Rohnert Park, Calif.
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