Feb. 17, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team shot 49.1 percent from the field, including 60.7 percent in the second half, but still came up just short in the end, falling to visiting Wyoming 69-66 Thursday at Cox Arena. With the loss, SDSU dropped to 7-15 overall and 1-8 in Mountain West Conference play, while Wyoming, which claimed the two teams' earlier meeting in January by a much greater margin of 26 points, improved to 14-9 and 4-5 in league action.
The Aztecs had four players score in double-figures for just the second time this season. Junior Michelle Strawberry (Corona, Calif.) led the way with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Strawberry also had five rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes of action.
Senior Lindsey Casey (Odessa, Texas) (12 points, six rebounds), freshman Kate Eveland (Southlake, Texas) (11 pts.) and junior Veronica Shaw (Phoenix, Ariz.) (10 pts., seven reb.) were the Aztecs' other top scorers.
SDSU led the Wyoming in nearly every statistical category with the exceptions being free throws, free throw attempts and rebounding. The Cowgirls owned just a slim seven-rebound advantage on the boards, but went to the charity stripe 14 more times with eight coming in the final 30 seconds.
The game featured four lead changes and a pair of ties in the first 20 minutes of action. SDSU was up by as many as six points in the first half, but the Aztecs trailed by four at the break (30-26) due in part to a 6-2 Cowgirl run in the final 4:35.
SDSU countered that run coming out of the locker room, tying the score at 30 points and taking the lead by four points on two occasions at 36-32 and 38-34. The lead would change hands five times and the game would be knotted four times with Wyoming coming out of a 51-51 tie with a two-point advantage on a bucket by Michelle Taylor.
The Cowgirls increased their lead to five points on their next possession on a three-pointer by Erin Hicks at 56-51. SDSU got to within one point at 56-55 and two points on two occasions with the final instance coming at 61-59 with just 1:26 left following a Casey lay-up.
Wyoming countered the Casey basket with one of its own to go up 63-54 and the Aztecs had a turnover and missed a pair of free throws over the next 53 seconds. The Cowgirls iced the game by making 6-of-8 from the free-throw line to escape with the 69-66 victory.
Wyoming was led by freshman Hanna Zavecz, who tallied a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
SDSU completes its longest homestand of the month of February by playing host to Colorado State on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Aztecs are looking to make it three straight against the Rams in San Diego.