Nov. 26, 2005
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The San Diego State women's basketball team cut a 13-point second-half deficit all the way down to just two points with just over a minute remaining but was unable to complete the comeback, falling to host UC Riverside, 71-66, Saturday afternoon at the Student Recreation Center. With the loss, the Aztecs dropped to 0-3 on the season, while the Highlanders improved to 2-1 and claimed the second straight in the series.
SDSU was led by freshman Jana Heinrich (Fischbach, Germany), who scored a career-high 17 points, including seven in the final 4:24. Heinrich also had eight rebounds and four steals in just 24 minutes of action. She was helped offensively by junior Desiree Johnson (Kahuku, Hawaii), who tallied 16 points and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds. Senior Michelle Strawberry (Corona, Calif.) also reached double-figures in scoring for the third straight game with 13 points before fouling out.
With both Strawberry and fellow starter Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) on the bench for most of the second half after fouling out, the Aztecs fell behind by 13 points at 65-52 with 5:43 left in the game. Heinrich, however, sparked the SDSU comeback by grabbing an offensive board and following through with a jumper from the foul line. After the teams traded trips to the free throw line, Heinrich made her only three-pointer of the game to put the Aztecs down by just seven at 66-59.
SDSU would cut the deficit all the way down to two points at 68-66 on a steal and a bucket by freshman LaSandra Dixon (Azusa, Calif.) at the 1:19 mark, but the Aztecs would get no closer as the Highlanders made three of their four free throws in the final three seconds to claim a 71-66 victory.
UC Riverside shot 50 percent from the field and made 21 of their 30 free-throw attempts. The Highlanders had four players in double-figures including leading scorer Roney Friend, who tallied 20 points in 37 minutes.
San Diego State continues its road swing next Saturday at UC Davis for the first-ever meeting between the two schools beginning at 2 p.m.