Nov. 28, 2000
PORTLAND, Ore. - The theory goes that if you can stop Jamey Cox you can stop San Diego State. Portland State did just that as Cox, San Diego State's leading scorer, was held without a point for the first time in her career. However, the Vikings were unable handle the inside tandem of juniors Tanisha Knight and Atim Otii as the Aztecs got 17 points from Knight and 12 more from Otii to eke out a 53-50 win on the road at Portland State Tuesday night.
So much for theories.
The victory was the first in three tries away from Cox Arena this season for San Diego State (2-3).
"We've had trouble the last two season winning on the road," said SDSU head coach Barb Smith. "But we were determined to get the monkey off our back and we decided we were going to do it here tonight."
Portland State (0-5), which led for much of the game, was paced by Alicia Russell's 12 points.
San Diego State trailed 28-25 at intermission, before putting together an 11-2 run midway through the second half, including five points by junior Missy Schomaker, to take their first lead, 36-34, since the opening minutes of the game.
"We didn't play a very good first half, we didn't score very well and our defense was not working," Smith added. "But we made some adjustments at halftime and we did a much better job. We were very tough down the stretch, especially on the offensive glass."
SDSU's advantage grew to as many as seven points with 4:22 to go, but the Aztecs never could quite put the Vikings away as Portland State's hot shooting -- 46 percent from the field -- kept them in the game.
A pair of three-pointers and a two free throws pulled Portland State to within a single point during the game's final minute. However, San Diego State was able to put the game on ice as the Aztecs pulled down three straight offensive rebounds and got a pair of free throws from Otii with 10 seconds to play to provide the final margin of victory.
The Aztecs, who have had trouble with turnovers, had only 12 on the night compared to 26 by the Vikings, including 15 that came as a result of SDSU steals.
San Diego State returns to action on Friday, Dec. 1, when the Aztecs take on Alcorn State at 4 p.m. (PST) in the opening round of Missouri's Lady Tiger Classic in Columbia, Mo.