Dec. 11, 2004
SAN DIEGO -
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With three players out due to injury, a short-handed San Diego State women's basketball team battled for 40 minutes against visiting Washington State, but came up short, falling to the Cougars, 55-50, Saturday at Peterson Gym. With the loss, the Aztecs dropped its first home game of the season to fall to 2-3 overall, while the Cougars improved to 4-3 in 2004-05.
SDSU freshman Ashley Cheesman (Orem, Utah) led all scorers with her first career double-double, tallying a career-high 15 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes. Freshman Kate Eveland (Southlake, Texas) added nine points and four rebounds, while senior Lindsey Casey (Odessa, Texas) finished with a career-high five assists and four steals.
The Aztecs won the battle on the boards for the first time this season, grabbing 41 rebounds to the Cougars' 35. SDSU also had 13 assists, four blocks and nine steals, but shot just 5.9 percent from beyond the arc, making only 1-of-17 opportunities.
The game proved to be a see-saw battle, as the score was tied six times and the lead changed hands on 10 occasions.
In the first half, Washington State scored first and held the advantage most of the way, until SDSU bounced back from a four-point deficit at 18-14, with a 12-0 run, capped by a three-point play by Cheesman with 1:25 left in the half. The Cougars responded with a 5-0 run of their own, as the Aztecs went into the locker room up by just three at 26-23.
The second half was even closer, as no team led by more than three points until the 2:26 mark, when WSU's Kate Benz made a lay-up to give the Cougars a four-point advantage at 51-47. A lay-up by Aztec Jessica Huettl (Eau Claire, Wis.) cut the deficit in half, but Huettl was unable to convert the three-point play, missing the free throw to leave the score at 51-49.
Casey had a chance equalize the game the next trip down the court, but only hit the second of her two free throws as SDSU trailed by just one point, 51-50, with 1:44 left in the contest.
Washington State would then ice the game with a lay-up and two free throws in the final 32 seconds to come out with the 55-50 victory, avenging a 63-56 loss to the Aztecs a year ago in Pullman, Wash.
WSU had three players finish in double-figures, including Charmaine Jones, who tallied a team-high 11 points.
The Aztecs continue their three-game homestand next Saturday, as SDSU plays host to Cal State Fullerton at 2 p.m. at Cox Arena.