TURLOCK – The postseason drought is over. For the first time since 1990, Stanislaus State women's basketball is advancing in the playoffs.

Tuesday night on home court inside the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena, the Warriors dominated Cal State L.A., 80-56, for their first ever CCAA Tournament victory. They will advance to the semifinals to take on regular season champion UC San Diego on Friday in San Marcos.

Stan State improved to 16-14 overall and will continue on to fight for the CCAA tournament championship title while the Golden Eagles have ended their season with a 15-14 overall record. 

"Everyone just came in really focused. We all remembered how bad it hurt last year and we wanted to make sure it doesn't happen again," said senior Riley Holladay. "We are going to San Marcos together so it's going to take everyone and not just one person. Everyone stepped up and everyone was ready and I couldn't be prouder."

 

Stan State's outstanding offense was an all-around group effort, with five Warriors each scoring double digits, accounting for 75 of the Warriors' 80 points. Riley Holladay and Cassidy Sanders-Curry each scored 17 points as the team's leading scorers. Ana Burch had another amazing night with 16 points and redshirt freshman Lizzy Alexander scored 13 while Reana Hardin rounded out the Warriors sharp shooting with 12 points.
 
Burch was a hot shooter at the three-point line, going 4-for-6. She was 6-for-13 from field, and tacked on six assists for her teammates. Sanders-Curry, who surpassed 1,000 career-points on Saturday at Cal State East Bay, was 7-for-10 from the field banking one three-point shot and two free throws. Alexander was 5-for-9 from the field, 3-for-6 from the three-point line, and had two assists and two blocks.
 
As a unit, the Warriors made a season-high 12 three-pointers en route to the epic and historical victory.

"These young women, especially our upper classmen...I am so proud of how they played tonight. That by far was probably the best performance in a game by any team during my tenure," head coach Wayman Strickland said.
 
As a team Stan State shot 50 percent from the field, their second best average of the season. Additionally, the Warriors shot 54.5 percent from the three-point arc, a new season best, and 71.4 percent from the free throw line.
 
The Warriors came out with the will to win, falling behind the Golden Eagles only three times throughout the game, but never by more than a short three points. Stan State went on a 13-2 run to end the third quarter to build to a 61-42 lead, giving them the momentum to finish out the fourth quarter.
 
The Golden Eagles were led by Samantha Lee and Rikke Fabricius who each scored 15 points. Cal State L.A. out rebounded the Warriors 31-26 as a team, with Fabricius leading with nine rebounds.
 
The Warriors will take on the UCSD Tritons at The Sports Center on the campus of Cal State San Marcos in the CCAA Tournament semifinal game. The game will be broadcast live on Friday at 12:05 p.m.