The SF State women’s basketball team is in its final games of the 2008 calendar year, ending its fall run on Dec. 13, and returning to conference play Jan. 2 at Humboldt State.

The Gators have a 5-2 record on the season and a 1-1 California Collegiate Athletic Association record going into the winter break.

“Overall, I think we are getting better with our offense further along than last year,” head coach Joaquin Wallace said, but adding that there’s “a lot of room to improve on our efficiency, thereby, limiting our turnovers, which is priority No. 1.”

Following winter recess, the Gators will play 10 games on the road, starting with the Humboldt State Lumberjacks on Jan. 2. The Gators return home Feb. 6 with a conference game against the Sonoma State Seawolves.

“Playing on the road for a young team is great, as they are in a position to establish camaraderie with one another for both players and staff,” Wallace said.

“This season, I have three new first-year assistants and it is important for us to get to know one another as well,” he continued. “We are growing as a staff, as well as a team. I am hopeful we can continue to grow, learn and have fun in the next 23 games pushing towards Regionals.”

The Gators had a rocky preseason run, losing to Division I opponents USF (69-59) and St. Mary’s College (86-75) on the road in November.

“I would expect these schools to win,” Wallace said after the first exhibition game in which the Dons defeated the Gators. “But we learned a lot and we played well.”

All that changed at the season opener on Nov. 19, when SF State devoured Dominican University 73-34.
After a 19-19 tie with two minutes left on the clock, it looked like the Penguins would take the lead. But senior Desiree Butler had a 3-pointer that helped Gators take a 24-19 lead at the break. Butler posted a career-high with 21 points against the Penguins.

“She’s really trying to get us to the next level,” Wallace said of Butler. “She’s worked really hard.”
Going into Thanksgiving break, the Gators traveled to Washington to compete in the Wildcat Classic. The Gators took two out of three games that weekend, defeating tournament host Central Washington University and Western State College but falling to Seattle Pacific.

“Our last game we just got tired,” junior ZaLisha Oliver said after the Washington run, during which the Gators played four games in six days.

CCAA play started Friday, Dec. 5 with a victory against Cal State Stanislaus. After battling back-and-forth with the Warriors the entire game, the Gators pulled off a 57-53 win.

But the SF State offense couldn’t catch a break the following night when it lost a difficult battle to Chico State 51-49. Despite the loss, the Gators’ defense held the Wildcats to 43 percent shooting.

The game against the Wildcats also served as a breakout performance for freshman Marlee Rice, who came off the bench in the second half and scored a season-high 15 points.

Rice is one of six new team members this season, including freshmen Lauren Payton and Carly Cator, and transfer students Kalia Williams, Donisha Tate and Jamie Hall.

“There are a lot of newcomers,” said junior Jessica Hout-Freeman, a returning starter from last year.

“We’re just trying to mold.” The loss to Chico was rough, but Wallace was happy that “at the end of the day, we are still 1-1.”

The Gators battled against Notre Dame de Namur Tuesday night, giving up a 17-point lead but holding on for a 58-56 victory.

“The team is at a point where we feel pressure to do well,” senior Desiree Butler said after Tuesday’s game. “I think we just went away from doing what we do well.”

The Gators will face host Central Washington University on Friday, Dec. 12, whom the Gators beat at the end of November. “Central is going to be a tough team,” Wallace said. “They’ve had about two weeks to prepare for us.”

“The first five to 10 minutes, we just need to play solid defense,” junior Madeleine Schwartz said of facing Central Washington.

The Gators will take a couple of days off for Christmas before traveling up to Arcata to face Humboldt State on Jan. 2.