Jan. 13, 2001
SAN DIEGO - All good things must come to an end and Saturday night at Cox Arena Utah put a stop to San Diego State's six-game winning streak, handing the Aztecs a 56-47 loss in front of a season-high crowd of 1,189.
San Diego State (9-6, 1-1 MWC) led for all but the final eight minutes of the game but down the stretch could not find an answer for Ute center Lauren Beckman, who led Utah (14-2, 3-0 MWC) with a game-high 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Sophomore Jamey Cox finished in double figures for the sixth time in the last seven games with 10 points and junior Claire Swinbank added 10 points and a career-best seven rebounds but it wasn't enough to overcome Beckman's double-double.
"We played great basketball for 30 minutes tonight," said Aztec head coach Barb Smith. "We had a letdown in the second half that allowed (Utah) to get back in the game. But I'm proud of the way the team played and especially our intensity on defense."
The Aztecs rode that defensive effort to a 22-20 halftime advantage after limiting the Utes to just 7-for-24 shooting in the first half. In fact, Utah was in danger of being held to single digits after hitting just two field goals in the opening 10 minutes of the game as the Aztecs used a 9-0 run to take an 18-7 lead at the 5:14 mark.
Utah, however, closed the period by scoring 11 of the half's final 13 points to pull with two at the break.
"The first 18 minutes of this game may be the best 18 minutes of basketball we've played all season," Smith said. "The last two minutes though we let up and let (Utah) get some confidence heading into halftime."
San Diego State pushed its lead back to as many as six in the second half before Utah finally took control of the game, stringing together a 19-3 run take a 47-37 lead with 3:33 to play.
The Aztecs pulled within five on a Cox jumper with a minute to play but never got closer as the Utes, who finished up a sizzling 20-for-24 (83 percent) from the free throw line, connected on all four down the stretch to keep the Aztecs at bay.
Lindsay Herbert and Kelsy Strieman also finished in double figures for Utah with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Tanisha Knight and Nicollette McCartny each collected five rebounds as the Aztecs won the battle of the boards for just the sixth time in 15 games this season, 31-29.
"Despite the loss, I think this game let us know that we are very, very close," Smith added. "We are not there yet, but we are on the right track."
San Diego State returns to the road this week for Mountain West Conference games at Air Force, Jan. 18, and New Mexico, Jan. 20, before returning to Cox Arena to face UNLV, Jan. 27.