Box Score: Coyotes 63, San Francisco State 56

SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State San Bernardino showed two entirely different phases of play in Thursday night's game against visiting San Francisco State.

Head coach Kevin Becker will just as soon forget the opening 20 minutes because the Coyotes took control in the final 20 minutes and earned a hard-fought 63-56 victory over the Gators in California Collegiate Athletic Association play before a crowd of 220 at Coussoulis Arena.

The Coyotes improved to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the CCAA and snapped a five-game losing streak over the Gators that began during the 2007-08 season. The Gators fell to 1-8 and 1-4.

The Gators controlled much of the first half and led by as many as eight (26-18) on Erica Greer's 3-pointer with 3:24 remaining.

But the Coyotes whittled the lead and found a spark with four seconds left in the half when senior Sierra Chess fired a pass from the top of the key that found senior Danielle Shows under the basket. The Central Missouri transfer stepped up and scored on the layup and CSUSB trailed 28-24, despite firing just 28.1 percent from the floor on 9-of-32 shooting.

SFSU did not give up the lead and the game was tied five times until senior Eisha Sheppard scored on a jumper from senior Sabrina Gonzalez and the Coyotes led 48-46 with 8:26 left in the game.

The Gators' Lauren Varney tied the game at 48 with a pair of free throws, but the Coyotes answered right back on Gonzalez' jumper from Chess and that started a 9-2 run over the next six minutes and went on to earn the victory.

Sheppard scored a game and season-high 22 points one night after going scoreless against CSU Monterey Bay. Shows had 15 points off the bench and Gonzalez had 12 points.

Although Chess did not score, she dealt four assists along with Gonzalez. Chess and Sheppard had three steals apiece.

Varney had 16 for the Gators and Dominique Hunter had 15.

GAME NOTES: The Coyotes own the all-time series against the Gators 17-14 and are now 11-5 all-time at home against SFSU... CSUSB held the Gators to just seven field goals in the second half and forced 20 turnovers for the game.... CSUSB was 11-of-12 from the FT line with Shows going 5 of 6 and Sheppard good on all four attempts.