TURLOCK -- Cal State LA's women's basketball team certainly had a lot of positive moments in the 2016-17 campaign, but the Golden Eagles saw their season come to an end Tuesday night in a California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament first-round game.
The Golden Eagles led briefly midway through the second quarter, but the No. 5 seeds lost to No. 4 Stanislaus State, 80-56. Cal State LA (15-14) trailed by eight points at halftime and then was outscored, 38-22, in the second half. Even so, the Golden Eagles finished with a winning record for the first time since 2014.
Samantha Lee, the team's lone senior, had 15 points and four assists, while
Rikke Fabricius just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Rachael DiRegolo had 12 points and seven rebounds.
C. Sanders-Curry led five Warriors in double figures with 17 points and seven rebounds. Riley Holladay also had 17 points to go along with five rebounds. Ana Burch had 16 points, four rebounds and six assists, Lizzy Alexander had 13 points and Reana Hardin had 12 points.
Christine Delapina had six points for the Golden Eagles, while
Sacha Griffin had five points.
Cal State LA opened the scoring with a basket by
Rachael DiRegolo, but Stanislaus State went on an 11-2 run to take a seven-point lead. A 3-pointer by Lee, two free throws by Fabricius and a pair of free throws by Lee gave the Golden Eagles a 15-14 lead before the Warriors closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 23-17 lead.
Cal State LA rebounded nicely in the second quarter and grabbed a 31-30 lead after a 3-pointer by Griffin to take a 31-30 lead. A basket by DiRegolo kept the game tied at 33-33 but Stanislaus State scored the next nine points and settled for a 42-34 halftime lead.
The Golden Eagles struggled mightily on offense in the second half. A 3-pointer by Delapina got the Golden Eagles within 48-40, but Stanislaus State closed the period with a 13-2 run to take a 61-42 lead into the final quarter.
Cal State LA was making its 10th appearance in the conference tournament and its fifth in the last six years. The Golden Eagles are now 7-10 in tournament games.
