Dec. 1, 2003
FULLERTON, Calif. - The San Diego State women's basketball team shot 69 percent in the first half, including 78 percent from beyond the arc, to easily down host Cal State Fullerton, 73-50, Monday night in non-conference action at Titan Gym. With the victory, the Aztecs moved to 2-1 overall, while the Titans remained winless in 2003-04, falling to 0-3.
SDSU freshman Courtney Fritz (Newberg, Ore.) made all five of her first-half shots, including four, three-pointers, to finish with a career high 21 points and become the third different Aztec to break the 20-point barrier in a game this season. Frtiz's classmate Michelle Elliott (Pasco, Wash.) logged her third straight game in double-figure scoring with 17 points, while Jessica Huettl (Eau Claire, Wis.) added 10 points.
The Aztecs opened the game by hitting their first four shots, taking a 10-0 lead on a pair of three-pointers by Fritz and Elliott and field goals by Elliott and junior Candace Mattson (Alpine, Utah). Cal State Fullerton would finally get on the board with a three-pointer by Tamara Quinn coming out of a timeout. The SDSU defense continued to stonewall the Titans, going on a 15-0 run to move ahead 25-3.
The Aztecs built a 30-point lead at 38-8, before Cal State Fullerton scored on two free throws to finally break into double-figures at 38-10 with 4:16 remaining in the first half. SDSU recorded just seven more points in the final minutes and headed into the locker room up, 45-17.
The Titans put up a bigger fight in the second half, cutting the Aztec lead to as few as 17 points at 52-35, before a Fritz three-pointer sparked a 10-0 run to restore order at 62-35 with under 10 minutes remaining. SDSU would get its lead back to 29 points at 65-36 and 67-38, eventually winning, 73-50.
Cal State Fullerton was led by Amber Pruitt, who had 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half.
With the win, SDSU ended a streak of eight consecutive years in which it had dropped its first road game of the season and also knotted the all-time series with Cal State Fullerton at 17-17.
SDSU continues its road trip with a Tuesday night game against another Big West Conference school, UC Irvine, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. With a win, the Aztecs can post their best overall record (3-1) through the first four games since the 1995-96 season.