Jan. 11, 2003
SACRAMENTO - The San Diego State women's basketball team returned to its winning ways, claiming a 77-68 win over Sacramento State, Saturday at Hornet Gym. With the victory, the Aztecs finished out their regular season non-conference schedule with a 6-6 record, following their first win this year in an opponent's gym. The Hornets, meanwhile, fell to 2-11 overall, dropping their second straight to SDSU in as many seasons.
San Diego State was led by freshman Amber Fouse (Compton, Calif.), who tallied a career high 15 points. Classmates Ashlee Dunlap (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Veronica Shaw (Phoenix, Ariz.) each chipped in 14 points, while Shaw recorded eight steals, the most by a player in the Mountain West Conference this season.
Aztec seniors Valencia Howard (Richmond, Calif.) and Jamey Cox (Waterloo, Iowa) also had 10 points each as five SDSU players reached double-figures in scoring. With her 10 points, Cox put up her 10th double-figure scoring game of the season and moved to 12th in school history in career scoring with 1,115 points.
In the first half, the Aztec took advantage of the Hornets' 20 turnovers, with seven of those coming after Shaw steals. SDSU led the entire way, going up by as many as nine points five times, before going into the locker room up 37-30.
Sacramento State, which stayed in the game with the help of a 64.7 percent field-goal percentage in the first half, crept back in the second 20 minutes to within three points at 40-43. SDSU rebuilt its lead to 10 at 52-42, following a 9-2 run with a little over 12 minutes remaining.
The Hornets continued to keep the Aztecs within reach. San Diego State reached the 10-foul limit at the 11:50 mark and had to play for most of the final minutes without both its two leading scorers, Cox and Dunlap, who, along with senior Tynisha King (Moreno Valley, Calif.), fouled out of the game each for the first time this season.
Sacramento State would get as close as three points at 53-56, but SDSU stayed steady, building its lead back up to a game-high 15 points at 60-75, eventually winning by nine points, 68-77.
SDSU returns home for its Mountain West Conference opener with UNLV Saturday, beginning at 5:05 p.m. The Aztecs' game with the Rebels is the first of a three-game MWC homestand.