Dec. 14, 2003
SAN DIEGO - Southern Methodist broke a 52-52 tie with nine straight points in the game's final three minutes to hand San Diego State its third straight loss, 64-55, Sunday at Cox Arena. With the loss, the Aztecs dropped to 3-4 overall, while the Mustangs, playing their first game since Dec. 3, improved to 2-3 in 2003-04.
"It was a tight game with two minutes to go," SDSU head coach Jim Tomey said. "We continue to make youthful mistakes that have cost us some games. We just have to find a way to step it up and make winning plays, which is the bottom line."
Guard Courtney Fritz (Newberg, Ore.) led SDSU in scoring for the second consecutive game with 17 points, including four of the team's five three-pointers. Freshman Michelle Elliott (Pasco, Wash.) continued her string of scoring in double figures in every game with 10 points. Sophomore Michelle Strawberry (Corona, Calif.), making her first career start, secured season bests in both points (10) and rebounds (7), while forward Ashlee Dunlap (Los Angeles, Calif.) logged her fifth game this season in double-figure rebounding with 10.
The two sides battled for control in the first half with six ties and seven lead changes. SDSU rallied from a four-point deficit at 20-16, by scoring six consecutive points on baskets by Elliott and forward Erin Jackson (Sparks, Nev.) and two free throws by Strawberry to grab a 22-20 lead with 4:58 left in the first half. The Mustangs responded with seven straight points, but the Aztecs then scored five straight to knot the game at 27 and went into the locker room behind by just one at 32-31.
SDSU regained the lead in the first minutes of the second half, going up by three points on a basket by Dunlap at 35-32. A 9-5 scoring run put SMU back into the lead at 41-40, as the Mustangs would later be up by as many as six points at 52-46 with 5:44 remaining, the largest advantage by either team up to that point.
The Aztecs made a final run by responding with six consecutive points, the last two on a Strawberry lay-up, to tie the game at 52 with 2:51 left. SMU guard Andrea Cossey then took over the game, hitting a long distance three-pointer and two straight jumpers to give her team a seven-point advantage at 59-52, which was later extended to nine points by Kendall Shead's pair two free throws. Fritz hit a late three-pointer to cut the lead to six with 23 second remaining, but three more SMU free throws closed out the game, 64-55.
Cossey finished the afternoon with 17 points, while Shead had 13 as the only other Mustang in double-figures.
San Diego State takes six days off for final exams before rounding out its three-game homestand Saturday, Dec. 20, at 4:30 p.m. against Oral Roberts. The game will be televised live by Channel 4 San Diego and will feature the broadcast team of Bill Earley (play-by-play) and Tammy Blackburn (analysis).