Jan. 23, 2002
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State made a furious dash to the finish, turning a rout into a nip-and-tuck affair, but simply ran out of time as the Aztecs dropped their Mountain West Conference home opener to New Mexico, 58-49, Wednesday night in Cox Arena.
The Aztecs (8-9, 0-4 MWC) trailed by as many as 28 points just three minutes into the second half and by 24 at the midpoint of the period but never gave up the ship.
With just over 10 minutes to play, Claire Swinbank put-back a missed free throw by Atim Otii then sank a pair of free throws to start a 25-6 run that pull San Diego State to within five points inside the final minute.
In all, the senior guard would score 16 of her game- and season-high 18 points during the spurt, which she capped with a 12-foot jumper.
New Mexico (15-4, 4-1 MWC), however, weathered the storm and canned four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.
"We had a great second half," said head coach Barb Smith. "It was a great comeback when we finally decided to play. If we would have had a couple of more minutes on the clock we might have been able to pull it out but the time just ran out."
Otii was the only other Aztecs to finish in double figures, scoring seven of her 11 points and grabbing four steals down the stretch.
But it was too little, too late for San Diego State, which was held to a season-low 13 points in the first half on 19 percent shooting.
"We just didn't come out with the intensity we needed to win a basketball game," said Smith. "We didn't come out ready to play and it just took us too long to get it going. The first half really hurt us. We had open looks, but we just couldn't hit the broadside of a barn."
The Aztecs also struggled in the rebounding department. Ashonda Williams, who was held scoreless for the second straight game, hauled down a game-high seven caroms, but it wasn't nearly enough to offset New Mexico's 44-34 advantage on the glass as the Lobos had four different players grab at least five boards.
"We covered up good on the defensive end, but what hurt us was our rebounding," said Smith. They got some offensive boards and easy put-backs and that was the difference in the ball game."
Despite their struggles on the offensive end, San Diego State did do a good job of taking care of the ball, committing just 13 turnovers to New Mexico's 24. The Aztecs also had 12 steals.
Molly McKinnon scored 15 points and Mandi Moore added 11 to lead New Mexico, which has now won 10 of its last 11 games. The Mountain West's No. 4 scorer, Lobo junior Jordan Adams, was held to just four first-half points.
Early-game jitters plagued both squads as SDSU managed a 5-4 lead eight minutes into the game. However, it was the only time the Aztecs would lead the game.
Lauren McLeod drilled a 3-pointer and Adams tallied all of her four points as the Lobos used a 16-2 run midway through the half to take a 20-7 lead seven minutes before intermission.
Otii hit back-to-back jumpers to pull the Aztecs within 11 points, but New Mexico scored the half's final eight points to take a 32-13 lead into the lockerroom.
Things didn't get much better in the second half as the Lobos continued to roll, scoring the period's first nine points and forging a 28-point lead before the Aztecs rallied to make the game close.
"I thought we played well in the second half," Smith said. "We dug a huge hole but just ran out of time. If we hadn't dug such a huge hole it could have been a different game."
The Aztecs return to action on Saturday, when San Diego State hosts Air Force at 5 p.m. The game is the opener of a women's-men's doubleheader in Cox Arena. The Aztecs men close out the twin bill versus UNLV at 7:30 p.m.