ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – The Sonoma State women's basketball team turned to their offensive firepower on Monday, scoring a season high 85 points in an 85-80 victory over Simon Fraser. The Seawolves improved to 8-2 on the season and have won eight of their last nine contents.
The scoring started early in this one as SSU opened the game with a 7-0 run and netted points on each of their first six possessions.
Alli McDonald recorded a layup plus the foul on the first possession and added another layup two possessions later.
Madisyn Clark and
Jayme Blackard added buckets as the Seawolves started 4-4 and led 11-5. The Red Leafs responded with a 17-5 run over the next six minutes to take their largest lead of the contest at 22-15. Sonoma State cut that deficit down to three at the end of the first thanks to six points in the final minute.
The teams traded baskets to open the second and SFU took a 5-point advantage at 28-23 just over a minute into the quarter. From there the Seawolves took over, ripping off a 23-5 run over the next six minutes.
Trena Rathjen knocked down a 3-pointer and
Emerson Herrmann,
Jennifer Moreno and
Laura Smith all added baskets of their own. Blackard and McDonald did their damage as well, combining for 10 of the last 12 points of the run as SSU led by 13 at 46-33. Simon Fraser closed the half with six straight points and the game went to the half at 48-41.
The hot shooting continued in the third for the Seawolves as they connected on 8 of their first 10 shots of the quarter. Five different SSU players made shots with McDonald hitting three and Moreno hitting a 3-pointer and a midrange jumper. Despite the hot shooting, Simon Fraser stayed within striking distance as Sonoma State led by nine with just over four minutes remaining. Clark and Blackard closed the third with 3-pointers of their own to keep the margin at nine entering the fourth.
McDonald opened the fourth with a basket but the Red Leafs would rip off nine straight to tie the game at 73-73 with five minutes remaining. SFU took their first lead of the half with just over three minutes left but McDonald was there to answer once again. She knocked down a triple and then followed with a jumper to put the Seawolves back on top by four with just two minutes left. After a free throw by SFU make it a 3-point game, Clark delivered the clincher with a clutch midrange jumper at the 1-minute mark to make it a 5-point contest. Blackard then iced it with a pair of free-throws down the stretch and give the Seawolves the victory.
Sonoma State took care of the ball, committing just eight turnovers while forcing the Red Leafs into 21. The Seawolves held a 19-5 advantage on points off turnovers and also hit 21 free-throws. McDonald led all players with 27 points, 16 of which came in the second half while adding 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Blackard set a new career high with 23 points and tacked on 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Clark recorded 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting with Moreno adding 7 key points off the bench.
These two teams will go at it again Tuesday morning with an 11:00 am tip-off. The game will be streamed on the CCAA Network with live stats available through the link at
www.sonomaseawolves.com.
