Dec. 4, 2004
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 36 seconds to hold on for a 68-65 non-conference victory over visiting Northern Colorado Saturday at Cox Arena. With the win, the Aztecs moved to 2-1 on the season, claiming their second consecutive victory and staying a perfect 2-0 at home. The Bears, in their second season at the NCAA Division I level, fell to 1-5 in 2004-05, following the schools' first meeting since 1979.
"We executed really well today," SDSU head coach Jim Tomey said. "We had to step up and make some shots in some pressure situations - not only from the field, but also from the line. Northern Colorado is a pesky team, which has already played six games to our three. They've been on the road, they're seasoned and they play hard, so it's a very good victory for our young team. If we're going to win a game, I prefer winning it this way, because it showed that under stress, we can execute."
SDSU senior Lindsey Casey (Odessa, Texas) tied a pair of career highs with a team-best 12 points and seven rebounds. Casey was 6-for-8 from the floor and also added a career high four blocks and three assists. Casey was helped offensively by sophomore Courtney Fritz (Newberg, Ore.), who finished with 11 points, eight of which came in the second half. Freshman Ashley Cheesman (Orem, Utah), making her first career start in place of the injured Michelle Elliott (right knee contusion), chipped in nine points, seven boards and a team-high four assists.
The Aztecs attempted a school record 27 three-pointers, with 21 of those coming the first half, beating the previous record of 25 set a year ago in a close loss to New Mexico. SDSU made nine three-pointers on the day and hit 86.7 percent (13-for-15) of its free throws, the school's best free-throw percentage in a game since making 88.9 (8-for-9) percent from the stripe on Nov. 25, 2000.
San Diego State never trailed, as the Aztecs held the Bears off the scoreboard to start the game for more than five minutes, building a 7-0 advantage. Northern Colorado regrouped to eventually tie the score at 17-17 with 5:24 left in the first half, but SDSU led by five points at the break, 25-20.
The second-half would turn into a three-point shooting contest. SDSU was up by as many as 12 points at 38-26 with 15:26 left, following back-to-back three pointers by Jessica Huettl (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Fritz. Northern Colorado, meanwhile, was 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first half before making its first of the game with 11:17 left, as a triple by Jena Fosdick capped an 11-1 run by the Bears to cut the deficit to 39-37.
Northern Colorado went 6-for-10 from three-point range in the final 11:17, but SDSU also had six three-pointers of its own in the second half. The Aztecs had another double-figure advantage at 52-42, but saw their lead dwindle down to as few as two points at 62-60 with 41 seconds left in the game.
SDSU then made all six of its free-throw attempts in the final 36 seconds, including four by freshman Kate Eveland (Southlake, Texas), to pull out the 68-65 win.
Fosdick had a game-high 16 points for the Bears, while Heather Barbour added 11 in the loss.
The Aztecs make their first trip out of the city of San Diego Tuesday (Dec. 7) when the team travels to the University of Nevada for a 7 p.m. contest at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno. SDSU defeated Nevada a year ago, 67-52, at Cox Arena.