Jan. 5, 2001
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San Diego State Aztecs (7-5)
at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (7-8)*
DAY/DATE: Sunday, Jan. 7, 2001
PLACE: Circle K Court (3,500), Corpus Christi, Texas
TIME: 3 p.m. CST/1 p.m. PST
SERIES: Aztecs lead, 1-0
WEBCAST: Sunday's game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi can be heard live over the Internet at www.goaztecs.com. Dan Lawton handles the play-by-play for all road contests with Bill Earley (p-b-p) and Tammy Blackburn (analysis) calling the home webcasts.
San Diego State Storyline
San Diego State (7-5) closes out its 2000-01 non-conference schedule Sunday afternoon, when the Aztecs visit Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-8*). Winners of four in a row and six of its last eight, the Aztecs will be out to post their first five-game winning streak of the Barb Smith era. Off to their best start since opening the 1996-97 season with the same record, SDSU will also be looking for its second straight win over the Islanders. Last season, the Aztecs knocked off TAMU-CC, 57-52, in Cox Arena.
A Quick Look At The Aztecs
San Diego State continued its best stretch of the Barb Smith era Tuesday with a 73-63 victory at Cal Poly. Since opening the season with back-to-back losses at Montana and Loyola Marymount, the Aztecs have won 7-of-10, including four straight. It is the best 10-game stretch for SDSU since the Aztecs closed out the 1996-97 campaign with 11 consecutive wins before falling to Oregon in the NCAA Tournament.
Road Warrior Tradition Returning To Montezuma Mesa
San Diego State won its third game away from campus on Tuesday, defeating Cal Poly, 73-63, in San Luis Obispo. The victory moved SDSU to 3-4 on the road this year, including a 60-47 win over Alcorn State at the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic. A victory Sunday over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would give the Aztecs as many wins away from Cox Arena this season (four) as it posted in each of the last two years combined. San Diego State has not won four pre-conference games away from campus since the 1995-96 season when the Aztecs went 4-2.
Learning To Win The Close Ones
After wining just 5-of-15 games decided by 10 points or less last season, San Diego State appears to be learning how to win the close ones this year. The Aztecs are 3-3 in games decided by 10 or fewer points on the season and have won three of the last four. Included in those three wins are two road victories (Portland State and Cal Poly).
From 5-8 to 8-5?
At 7-5, San Diego State is dramatically improved from a year ago when the Aztecs were just 4-8 in their first 12 games. A victory Sunday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would improve SDSU's record to 8-5 and complete a six-game improvement from last year when the Aztecs were just 5-8 in non-conference games despite playing eight at home. This year, San Diego State has played eight of its 13 pre-conference games away from campus.
Anatomy Of A Streak
After dropping a game it felt it should have won (a 59-54 decision at San Jose State), San Diego State returned home determined to set its season back on track. The Aztecs did just that, putting a 37-point beating on Cal State Fullerton before picking up a quality 63-49 win over California. SDSU wrapped up its homestand with a 58-50 win over Northern Arizona to complete its first ever three-game winning streak in Cox Arena. With a little confidence under their belts, the Aztecs returned to the road earlier this week and led for all but the opening minutes in a 73-63 victory at Cal Poly.
About Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi enters the weekend with a 7-8 record and plays host to Loyola-Ill. Friday night before San Diego State arrives at Circle K Court Sunday.
* The Islanders are coming off a 1-2 road trip sandwiched around the New Year's Holiday. TAMU-CC opened the trip with a 68-42 win at Air Force before falling 64-49 at Denver and 72-70 at Wyoming. The losses dropped the Islanders to 2-4 in their last six games.
* Still, TAMU-CC is 4-2 this season on its home court heading into Friday night's game with Loyola.
* In just its second year of existence, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has been led by its front court. Center Kristen Rogers is the Islanders' leading scorer at 12.9 ppg, followed closely by forward Detra Johnson with 12.2 ppg. Forward Jean Clark is TAMU-CC's leader on the boards, averaging 6.6 rpg.
* Head coach Sheryl Estes led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to a 14-12 record during its inaugural season in 1999-00.
San Diego State-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Series Shorts
Sunday's game will be the second between San Diego State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which is in just its second year of existence. The Aztecs hosted the Islanders during their inaugural season of 1999-00, defeating TAMU-CC, 57-52, at Cox Arena. San Diego State had four players finish in double figures but had to overcome a four-point deficit with 3:22 to play by scoring the game's final nine points to hold off the Islanders. Jamey Cox and Kacee Wheeler scored 13 points apiece and Anita Bundage added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead a balanced SDSU attack.
More Than Just The Ocean in Common
These coastal colleges have more than just sun, sand and surf in common. For the fourth straight game, San Diego State will be playing a team of very similar statistics:
* Both teams enter the weekend with seven wins on the season.
* SDSU is averaging 64.8 ppg, TAMU-CC is averaging 63.4.
* On defense, the Aztec are yielding an average of 60.0 ppg, the Islanders are giving up 60.5 ppg.
* On the glass, SDSUaverages 35.4 rpg, TAMU-CC's rebound average is 35.3.
Noting SDSU's Win At Cal Poly
* San Diego State improved its record to 7-5 with a 73-63 victory at Cal Poly.
* SDSU's 73 points marked its third highest scoring game of the season.
* The Aztecs had four players finish in double figures for just the fifth time this season and just the second time in the last nine games.
* The Aztecs held Cal Poly to just 29-percent shooting (16-for-55). It is the third time this season that an SDSU foe has been held under 30 percent from the floor.
* San Diego State and Cal Poly combined for 79 trips to the foul line. SDSU's 39 attempts and Cal Poly's 44 were both season highs.
* Sophomore Jamey Cox posted her fifth double figure scoring game of the year and the 27th of her 40-game career, leading the Aztecs with 14 points.
* Cox also led SDSU with six assists. She has now paced the Aztecs in that category for five consecutive games.
* Senior Shannon Lee finished with a season-high in both points (13) and steals (5).
* Tanisha Knight failed to reach double-figures in scoring for the first time this season. The junior opened the year with 11 straight double-figure scoring efforts.
Its the Defense, Stupid!
Its not so difficult to figure out why San Diego State has won four in a row and six of its last eight games. DEFENSE! The Aztecs have held seven of their 12 opponents under 60 points this season, including six of the last eight. In fact, Cal Poly became the first opponent to break 50 points in the last four games. During that four-game span, the Aztecs have limited opponents to a paltry 31.6 percent shooting percentage (65-for-206), including just 19.1 percent (9-for-47) from beyond the arc. SDSU is 7-1 when holding an opponent under 65 points this season.
Heating Up, Staying Hot...
San Diego State was back to its hot-shooting self at Cal Poly Tuesday, connecting on 50 percent (12-of-24) of its shots in the first half (the ninth half of the season at 50 percent or better) and shooting 49 percent (25-of-51) for the game. The Aztecs enter Sunday's game shooting 44.1 percent on the season, third in the Mountain West Conference and up significantly over last year's 40.4 team percentage. n The Aztecs have now shot 50 percent or better in 8-of-24 halves thus far, and have three times topped 60 percent in a half. The Aztecs shot over 60 percent in both halves versus Illinois State, to finish at 68 percent (32-of-47). That performance broke a 13-year-old school record, eclipsing the old mark of 65 percent (34-of-50) set on Jan. 19, 1987, versus Hawaii.
...And That Translates Into More Points
SDSU is also scoring 7.6 more points per game than it did a year ago and has already surpassed the 80-point plateau twice. Last season, the Aztecs never scored more than 80 points. San Diego State has also shot better than 45 percent in 6-of-12 (.500) games compared to a season ago when the Aztecs eclipsed 45 percent in just 9-of-28 contests (.321).
Getting Defensive
The Aztecs have held six of their last seven opponents below 37 percent shooting, including Cal Poly, which became the third SDSU foe this season to shoot less than 30 percent from the field. Earlier this year, the Aztecs held both Alcorn State and Cal State Fullerton below 30 percent from the floor.
Hard To Get The Three
Through 11 games, San Diego State has proven itself to be the toughest team in the Mountain West Conference to sink a three-pointer against. Heading into Sunday's game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Aztec opponents are shooting just 29.5 percent from beyond the arc and, in the last five games, have connected on only nine of their last 58 attempts (15.5 percent).
Blocks Adding to Defensive Effort
San Diego State ranks third in the Mountain West Conference in blocked shots with over four per game. The Aztecs added another four Tuesday at Cal Poly and have now reached that number in 7-of-12 games. The Aztecs have really come on strong of late however, and are averaging 6.0 bpg in the last five contest, including back-to-back seven block outings versus Cal and Northern Arizona. Tanisha Knight leads SDSU in blocks with 20, a figure that ranks third in the league.
Five-Finger Discounts
One of San Diego State's most amazing turnarounds this season has been in the steals category. Through 11 games, the Aztecs rank third in the Mountain West Conference in steals per game at 9.9. SDSU picked off 10 against Cal and a season-high 18 versus Cal State Fullerton -- its most since snatching 22 against Fresno State on Feb. 24, 1999 -- and now has notched double-digit steals in six games on the year. Last season, SDSU averaged just 8.5 spg, good for seventh in the eight-team league, and finished with double-figures in steals in only 10-of-28 games. Three Aztecs rank among the Mountain West's leaders in steals per game: Tanisha Knight, Shannon Lee, and Jamey Cox.
These Things Tend To Come In Bunches
After getting just one double-double in its first eight games -- Shannon Lee's 10-point, 14-assist performance versus Illinois State -- the Aztecs have had three players turn the trick in the last four games. Jamey Cox got the streak started with 13 points and 10 assists against Cal State Fullerton before Anita Bundage and Tanisha Knight got into the act with their first double-doubles of the season against Northern Arizona. Last year, the Aztecs combined to post double-doubles in 12-of-28 games. Senior center Mary Apiafi led the way with nine double-doubles on the season.
Turnovers Still The Key
After struggling in the turnover department much of last season, SDSU has cut its turnovers in excess of three per game in 2000-01 and have had fewer turnovers than their opponents in 7-of-12 contests. The Aztecs averaged 22.5 turnovers per game last year and enter Sunday's game averaging 19.1. The Aztecs have already posted six games with 18 or fewer turnovers, including a season-low 12 at Portland State -- SDSU's fewest turnovers since committing just eight versus Pepperdine on Dec. 7, 1996. However the key stat remains which team has the fewest miscues. SDSU is 6-1 when it has less turnovers than its opponent. The Aztecs notched their first win with more turnovers than an opponent at Cal Poly, committing 19 miscues compared to 18 by the Mustangs.
Good Knight!
Just how big has junior Tanisha Knight been for the Aztecs since arriving from Central Arizona College? Knight, who has scored in double figures in 11-of-12 games, leads San Diego State in both scoring (13.2) and rebounding (6.0). In fact, Knight ranks in the MWC's top 10 in five separate categories: Scoring (3rd), Steals (3rd), Blocks (3rd), Rebounding (8th), and Free Throw Percentage (11th).
* Last week, Knight scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed a team-leading seven boards against California. The junior just missed her first career double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds against Cal State Fullerton to open the homestand, but came back to turn the trick with 12 points and 10 boards versus Northern Arizona.
* Prior to that, Knight posted an impressive four-game road trip. After opening up with 17 points in SDSU's win at Portland State, the junior scored 12 points against Alcorn State before pouring a team- and career-high 22 against Missouri. She wrapped up the stretch with a 16-point effort at San Jose State.
* SDSU's leading scorer in four of the last seven games, Knight has also connected on 78 percent of her free throws (51-of-63, good for sixth in the MWC), and was an all-tournament selection at both the Pacific Bell Classic and the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic.
Bundage Bounces Back
After getting off to a slow start in 2000-01, senior Anita Bundage has come on strong in the last three games. Last Friday against California, Bundage, who has made only one start and is averaging just 17 minutes per game, came off the bench to score 11 points. She did herself one better against NAU, collecting her third career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. At Cal Poly, Bundage led SDSU in rebounding for the second straight game with seven boards. She also had eight points and is now shooting 55 percent from the floor on the year.
Getting That Scoring Touch Back
Sophomore Jamey Cox appears to have regained her scoring touch. After averaging just 3.5 ppg during a four-game stretch from Nov. 25 through Dec. 6, Cox has finished in double figures in three of the last four, averaging 11.0 ppg. Last season, Cox averaged 13.7 ppg en route to all-newcomer team honors. She continued that streak to open 2000-01, averaging 13.8 ppg in SDSU's first four games this season before going into a four-game funk.
This And That...3-Dot Data
Junior Missy Schomaker has found her stroke and is shooting 15-for 30 (50 percent) from the floor, including 6-for-13 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc, in the last four games...Schomaker has also scored in double figures twice during that span...Claire Swinbank has posted double-digit scoring efforts in three of the last six games...All 12 Aztecs saw action at Cal Poly, a first for the team this season.