ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. – On Saturday, February 18th, the Sonoma State women's basketball team capped off an incredible senior night with a postseason clinching win over Cal State San Bernardino, 59-56! The Seawolves will be heading to the conference tournament for the 6th straight season dating back to 2017, and the first under head coach
Des Abeyta. They found themselves down two points late in the fourth quarter but back-to-back layups from senior
Camille Johnson and a huge steal from fellow senior guard
Taylor Johnson would help seal the game with just seconds remaining.
FIRST HALF SSU 29-22 CSUSB:
The Seawolves rode the senior ceremony energy right into the first quarter as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead, forcing an early San Bernardino timeout. A three ball from senior guard
Cielo Gonzalez would ignite the crowd and force the timeout. The Yotes would get a much-needed bucket right out of the timeout but two more made baskets from another pair of seniors,
Camille Johnson and
Taylor Johnson, would grow their lead to 10 points.
The Yotes would weather the storm to conclude the first quarter with the deficit in single digits and then ride a crucial 14-point second quarter to make it just a 7-point game at the break. First year head coach
Des Abeyta would start all five seniors in fitting fashion, allowing the team's leading scorer in
Alli McDonald to come off the bench and grab a couple of buckets in the second quarter.
The Seawolves would shoot 50% from the field in the second quarter alone, but six made free throws and a three ball would help build their lead back in the first, as well as terrific team defense as they held the Yotes to just 31% shooting in the first half.
FINAL SSU 59-56 CSUSB:
In the third, Sonoma State would get outscored 20-9 and surrender the lead for the first time all game. The Yotes went a staggering 9-of-11 from the field to take a four-point lead heading into the fourth. Three turnovers and just four made field goals in the quarter would cause them to surrender the lead but timely baskets kept it just a two-possession game with plenty to play for.
On the first play of the quarter,
Camille Johnson would sling a beautiful crosscourt pass to Gonzalez who would drill the wing three ball to make it a one-point game. Minutes later, Gonzalez would strike again with a huge steal and layup in transition to retake the lead, 45-44. Gonzalez has been a focal point for the Seawolves offensively as she recorded her fourth straight game with double figures.
Fast forward to the final two minutes, San Bernardino held a two-point lead on back-to-back possessions, but senior center
Amanda Luckett and
Camille Johnson would each answer with layups inside to tie the game back up. After the Yotes retook the lead following Luckett's layup, both teams would trade empty possessions before an SSU foul would give San Bernardino the ball in the front court with under 30 seconds to play. Out of the timeout, SSU would need a quick steal or a foul to stop the clock and have a chance to score on the other end.
Amanda Luckett and second year point guard
Jayme Blackard would double the Yotes big near their sideline and without fouling, force a tough pass inside where
Taylor Johnson would come from the weak side to knock the ball into the air.
Blackard would come down with possession and find a streaking
Camille Johnson on the right side who would take the bounce pass and soar to the hoop for the acrobatic finish, plus the foul, tying the game at 56 with 17 seconds remaining.
Johnson would rattle out the ensuing free throw, but
Taylor Johnson would secure a huge offensive board before getting the ball knocked out of bounds. Abeyta and the Seawolves would call timeout to draw up a play with a chance to win the game in dramatic fashion once again. The ball would make its way inside to Luckett who would go up strong and draw the foul as she headed to the line for a pair of free throws. Luckett would split the free throws but give SSU a one-point lead.
The Yotes would get a good look on their possession, but a contested layup inside would fall short. Luckett would rip away the rebound, good for her 13th of the night, and then hurl the ball forward to
Camille Johnson who had a wide open layup to seal the game with just seconds remaining, giving Sonoma State the victory 59-56.
The Seawolves win their third straight game and clinched a spot in the CCAA Tournament, good for their 6th straight as a program and first under head coach
Des Abeyta. Abeyta will look to win a conference tournament game for the first time since 2008 when former head coach Mark Rigby beat Humboldt State, 65-55 in the quarterfinals.
Luckett would finish the night with her second double-double of the season, recording a game high 16 points and 13 rebounds. Gonzalez would add 13 points and
Alli McDonald would lead all bench scorers with 12 points and add 7 rebounds.
Finally, we would like to congratulate all five of the SSU women's basketball seniors on their incredible Seawolf careers. #10
Taylor Johnson, #11
Chasity Spady, #25
Cielo Gonzalez, #33
Amanda Luckett and #34
Camille Johnson.
BY THE NUMBERS:
| Sonoma State |
Team |
San Bernardino |
| 39.0 |
FG% |
42.4 |
| 18.2 |
3PT% |
16.7 |
| 11-18 |
FT |
4-9 |
| 18 |
TO |
16 |
| 42 |
Reb. |
34 |
LOOKING AHEAD:
Sonoma State improves to 15-11 and 12-8 in CCAA play as they represent the 5th seed after this weekend's games. Their seeding could alter after next week's final regular season games. The Seawolves will finish out their regular season on the road against Cal State LA and Cal State San Marcos. Live stats, stream, and ticket links can all be found at sonomaseawolves.com. As always you can stream the game LIVE on the CCAA Network. Congratulations once again to Sonoma State for clinching a postseason tournament berth and to the 2022-23 women's basketball seniors.
Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. Sonoma State athletics also has launched a new fan app in partnership with From Now On. Download the free app today in both the Apple and Google Play stores by searching Sonoma State Seawolves in the app store. @SonomaSeawolves | #NomaNation
