Box Score

ROHNERT PARK -- Cal State L.A.'s women's basketball team finished a difficult season on a decidedly upbeat note Friday night.

The Golden Eagles concluded their 2008-09 season with a exciting 45-43 win over Sonoma State in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game that came down to the final seconds. Jazzi Johnson scored the game-winning basket with 18 seconds left and the Seawolves missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final six seconds that could have won it.

Cal State L.A. (5-22, 4-16 CCAA) won its third conference game on the road and snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Golden Eagles shot just 32.7 percent, but limited Sonoma State (9-18, 5-15 CCAA) to just 21 percent shooting. The Seawolves, normally a reliable free-throw shooting team, also missed 12 of 22 attempts, while the Golden Eagles were an efficient 9-of-12. Cal State L.A. won despite committing 27 turnovers to only 15 for the Seawolves.

The Golden Eagles blocked a season-high 11 shots, including four by Cassie Suffolk and two by Shatori Dearman.

Amber Whittington, in her final game for the Golden Eagles, scored a game-high 14 points. The Golden Eagles' only other senior, Ashley Kitchen, had three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes. Johnson finished with 11 points and four rebounds, while Suffolk had nine points and eight rebounds. Dearman, who scored 20 points on Thursday against Humboldt State, had six points and a game-high 11 rebounds on Friday.

Jennifer Russo had 12 points to lead Sonoma State, while Heidi Mertle had a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as five points in the first half, but cut the deficit to 20-19 at halftime. Cal State L.A. also fell behind by five points in the second half, 31-26, before a lay-up by Whittington gave the Golden Eagles a 33-32 lead with 11 minutes to go.

Cal State L.A. took a five-point lead, 41-36, after a pair of free throws by Dearman with 7:42 remaining, but Sonoma State rallied and took its final lead of the game, 42-41, on an offensive rebound and basket by Stephanie Barnes.

Suffolk, though, got the lead right back for the Golden Eagles, 43-42, on a jumper with 2:24 and Sonoma State tied it at 43-43 after a free throw by Lauren Redfield with 1:51 to go.

The winning sequence for the Golden Eagles came when Whittington blocked a shot and Kitchen came down with the rebound. She then found Johnson for the game-winning lay-up with 18 seconds to go.