Nov. 22, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The University of San Diego went on an 8-0 with just over a minute remaining to hand the San Diego State women's basketball team a 67-57 loss Tuesday night in front of 971 fans at Cox Arena. With the loss, the Aztecs fell to 0-2 on the season, while the Toreros claimed their fourth straight in the series and improved to 1-2 in 2005-06.
SDSU senior forward Michelle Strawberry (Corona, Calif.) led the team in scoring and rebounding for the second consecutive outing, recording her first career double-double with 19 points and 10 boards. Strawberry, who beat her previous career high of eight rebounds, posted the first double-double by an Aztec since Dec. 11, 2004.
Strawberry was helped offensively by junior center Desiree Johnson (Kahuku, Hawaii), who logged 10 of her 12 points in the second half and added six rebounds, three blocks and three steals in just 25 minutes. Sophomore forward Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) finished with nine points and a team-high five assists.
San Diego State opened the game by leading by as many as five points on three occasions, with the latest coming at 14-9. USD rebounded to knot the score at 14 apiece and took its first lead on the first of two free throws by Amanda Rego at 15-14. The two squads traded leads six more times before the half, as the Toreros used an 8-2 run to go into the locker room up by five at 31-26.
USD continued that scoring streak into the second half, building a pair of double-figure advantages at 40-28 and 46-35. The Aztecs, however, battled back with a 16-2 run to reclaim the lead on four straight points by Strawberry at 51-48. Back-to-back USD three-pointers by Polly Dong and Lindsay Helvey put the lead back in the visitors' hands, which they would not relinquish, shutting out the SDSU offense with an 8-0 run in the final 1:18 to gain the 67-57 victory.
After shooting 40.7 percent at the free-throw line in the opener at Wichita State, the Aztecs bounced back to post a 93.8 performance from the charity stripe, making 15 of their 16 attempts. SDSU also owned the advantage on the boards by a slim plus-three margin (33-30), but USD shot 46.2 percent from the field and went to the free-throw line 36 times, making 27 of them.
The Toreros were led by Sabine Loewe and Ashley Voisinet's 12 points.
San Diego State begins a three-game road swing this Saturday, when it visits UC Riverside for a non-conference contest slated for a 1:30 p.m. start time.