Feb. 8, 2006
USAF ACADEMY, COLO. - The San Diego State women's basketball team's six-minute dryspell in the second half allowed Air Force to break open the game, as the Falcons went on to claim a 74-45 victory Wednesday at Clune Arena. The loss spoiled SDSU head coach Beth Burns' 400th career game, as the Aztecs dropped to 3-17 overall and 0-10 in the Mountain West Conference, while the Falcons improved to 12-9 and 3-7 in league play.
Aztec redshirt sophomore Erin Jackson (Sparks, Nev.) had a team-best 12 points for her fourth outing in the last five games in double-figure scoring. Sophomore Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) had nine points, while senior Veronica Shaw (Phoenix, Ariz.) contributed seven points and five steals in just 17 minutes of action. SDSU's leading scorer senior Michelle Strawberry (Corona, Calif.) was limited to just seven points, including a pair in the first half.
The first 12 minutes of action saw seven ties and four lead changes, before Air Force went on an 8-0 run for the biggest advantage by any team at 25-17. A Demus lay-up ended the Aztecs' three-minute scoring drought to cut the deficit back to six points, but the Falcons answered and the two schools traded points before the half with SDSU going into the locker room down 29-21.
Air Force guard Letricia Castillo came out of the break on fire, scoring 12 points in less than five minutes to give her team a 43-25 lead. The Aztecs, meanwhile, struggled to answer, tallying four points in the first two minutes, but then going scoreless for the next six before a Desiree Johnson free throw at the 11:42 mark. At that point, the Falcons had opened what was an insurmountable 25-point advantage at 51-26, before claiming their second straight in the series, 74-45.
Castillo finished the night with 17 points, while Jamie Davis added 14 points for Air Force.
The Aztecs return to San Diego for a day before departing for the University of Utah for a 3 p.m. MST game with the Utes on Saturday in Salt Lake City.