March 3, 2001
LARAMIE, Wyo. - San Diego State closed its regular season on a down note Saturday at Wyoming, as the Aztecs suffered a 73-59 loss to the Cowgirls in front of 435 at the MultiPurpose Gym.
Jamey Cox finished with a game-high 21 points and Missy Schomaker added 10 to lead SDSU (13-14, 5-8 MWC), which ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak. The loss also dropped the Aztecs under .500 for the first time since the Aztecs opened the season 4-5.
Wyoming, which won for just the third time in conference play, had four players score in double figures, including Jessica Gibbs, who paced the Cowgirls with 21 points.
"We were very careless today," said SDSU head coach Barb Smith. "Wyoming simply outplayed us. They wanted it more than we did and it showed in their hustle and the way they attacked the offensive glass.
"We've now have to figure out what we are going to do heading into next week and hopefully this isn't it. Hopefully we can rebound and put together a big effort in the tournament."
The Cowgirls, who outrebounded the Aztecs 35-31 and forced 26 SDSU turnovers, led by as many as 18 in the first half.
The Aztecs, however, scored 11 of the period's final 15 points to slice the Wyoming lead to 37-26 at the break.
Wyoming, which dressed only seven scholarship players for the game, continued to roll after intermission using a 13-5 run, including a pair of 3-pointers by senior Shelby Hoffman, out of the gate to take a 19-point lead and effective control of the game.
The Cowgirl's lead reached as many as 25 with just over 12 minutes to play. SDSU pulled within 14 in the game's final minute but could get no closer.
San Diego State finishes the season as the Mountain West's sixth-place team and will open next week's conference tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., versus the league's No. 3 seed New Mexico on Wednesday, March 7 at noon in the Thomas & Mack Center.
The game will be televised live on Channel 4 San Diego and webcast live over the Internet at www.goaztecs.com.