Feb. 15, 2006
SAN DIEGO - After eight lead changes and a pair of ties, the visiting UNLV Lady Rebels used an 11-0 run to close out the first half and went on to earn a 64-48 win Wednesday over the host San Diego State women's basketball team at Cox Arena. With the loss, the Aztecs fell to 3-19 overall and 0-12 in conference play, while the Lady Rebels improved to 14-8 and 6-5 in league action.
"I thought we had a chance to compete tonight," SDSU head coach Beth Burns said. "They didn't have (leading rebounder Sherry) McCracklin and we game planned to have Desiree (Johnson) play a one-man zone and help out a lot defensively. We just can't operate from that kind of (first-half) deficit against a team like this. We did do a good job limiting them in rebounding, especially on the offensive glass. Both Desiree and Kate Eveland played excellent games. With that said, we need to get some help around that."
SDSU senior Michelle Strawberry (Corona, Calif.) scored a team-high nine points, but shot just 4-for-12 from the field, including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Junior Desiree Johnson (Kahuku, Hawaii) was one of two Aztecs to finish with eight points, while also tallying six rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Kate Eveland (Southlake, Texas) added eight points with a pair of three-pointers and recorded five assists in a season-high 35 minutes.
The Aztecs erased two early five-point deficits, tying the score for the first time at seven on an Eveland jumper, before taking the lead on a free throw by sophomore Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.). The two sides traded points, before a Strawberry lay-up at the 12:08 mark put SDSU up by three at 12-9. UNLV jumped ahead at 16-14 and 18-17, but each time the Aztecs responded to the challenge, tying the score at 18 and taking a one-point advantage at 19-18.
The final seven minutes of the half, however, SDSU was unable to find its offensive game, going 0-for-6 from the field and committing six turnovers, while UNLV went on an 11-0 run to head into the locker room up 29-19.
The Aztecs cut the deficit to just seven on two occasions in the second half with the final one coming with 15:22 remaining after an Eveland three-pointer and the score 38-31. SDSU was behind by nine with just over 13 minutes left, but a three-pointer by Brittney Thomas 30 seconds later pushed the UNLV advantage back into double-figures, as the Lady Rebels went on to claim the 64-48 victory.
Thomas had a team-best 12 points off the bench for UNLV, while Faye Muller had 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor.
SDSU travels to Fort Worth, Texas, for the first time since 2001, as the Aztecs take on TCU on Saturday afternoon at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, beginning at 2 p.m. CST.