Jan. 11, 2001
SAN DIEGO - It's been a long time coming for the Aztecs. Five years to be exact.
That's how long it's been since San Diego State's women's basketball team tasted victory against Brigham Young.
The Aztecs finally exorcised those demons against the Cougars Thursday night, opening Mountain West Conference play with a 63-61 victory over BYU in front of 740 in Cox Arena.
Junior Atim Otii scored a season-high 18 points and sophomore Jamey Cox added 11 as SDSU (9-5, 1-0 MWC) snapped a six-game losing streak versus BYU (8-6, 0-1 MWC). The Aztecs, who last defeated the Cougars during the 1995-96 season, also picked up their first win in a conference opener under head coach Barb Smith and have now equaled their win total (nine) for all of last season.
"This is a great win for our kids and our program," said Smith, whose team has now won six in a row and eight of its last 10 games. "The big question coming in was could we step it up a notch and keep the winning going against higher-caliber competition. The players responded and though we still have a long way to go, it feels good to have the monkey off our back."
That monkey may have felt more like at two-ton gorilla to the Aztecs, who lost by an average of 30 points in their three 1999-00 meetings with the Cougars.
But for the second straight game the Aztecs rallied for victory. SDSU, which entered the conference opener just 2-5 when behind at the half, found itself in a 31-25 hole at the break and trailed by as many as seven points with 15:38 to play.
Using a three-guard lineup to counter the Cougars' backcourt speed, the Aztecs outscored BYU 13-4 over the next 5:40 to take a 45-43 lead with just under 10 minutes to play.
Otii, who tallied the Aztecs' first nine points of the second half, got the run started with a short jumper in the lane. Senior Sophia Sledge added five her nine points during the spurt, which was capped by a pair of free throws from junior Claire Swinbank.
The lineup also worked on the defensive end, especially against Mountain West Conference leading scorer, BYU sophomore Erin Thorn. Thorn scored a co-team-high 11 points but was held off the scoreboard in the second half, finishing with game-high six turnovers and only getting two looks at the basket following intermission.
"We went with the three guards to put more pressure on (BYU's) guards." Smith said. "We wanted to run their legs out. We wanted to pick up the pressure in the second half and our guards were able to do that. We were also able to rotate our guards and keep them fresh, which made all the difference."
And that difference added up to a five-point SDSU lead with just under four minutes to play. The Cougars pulled to within one on a Julie Whetten three-pointer with six ticks on the clock. Aztec senior Anita Bundage caned 1-of-2 from the line after being fouled on the ensuing inbound pass, but BYU wasn't able to get a shot off at the buzzer as the Aztecs held on for the victory.
"We knew we had to play well coming in here," said BYU head coach Trent Shippen, who entered the game a perfect 5-0 against the Aztecs during his three-year tenure in Provo. "This is a different San Diego State team than in the past. They have a lot more depth this season, they play good pressure defense and they attack the basket well.
"Barb has done a nice job with her team. You don't win six in a row like they have being a slouch team."
San Diego State will try to extend its winning streak to seven Saturday night, when the Aztecs host Utah in Cox Arena at 7 p.m.