March 2, 2006
LARAMIE, Wyo. - The San Diego State women's basketball team rounded out its regular season schedule with a 78-45 loss Thursday night to Wyoming at Arena Auditorium. SDSU, playing its third straight opponent with votes in both national polls, dropped to 3-23 overall and 0-16 in the Mountain West Conference. The Cowgirls, meanwhile, improved to 20-6 and 10-5 in league action.
Aztec Erin Jackson (Sparks, Nev.) had a team-high 11 points, while Desiree Johnson (Kahuku, Hawaii) chipped in nine points. Senior Michelle Strawberry (Corona, Calif.) tallied a team-best six rebounds, but was limited to just five points from the field.
The two sides opened the game with two straight baskets each as the Aztecs matched the Cowgirls quick start to knot the score at 4-4. Wyoming came out of the tie with a lay-up and a three-pointer, before SDSU's Taryn Milburn (Moorpark, Calif.) notched her first career triple from the top of the key to get back to within a pair at 9-7.
The Aztec offense was dormant for the next 7:17, as Wyoming put together a 14-0 run with points from five different players, before senior Veronica Shaw's (Phoenix, Ariz.) free throw ended the dryspell at 23-8. SDSU would get the deficit down to 13 on Strawberry's first bucket of the night, a triple from the right angle with 7:10 left, but the team trailed by 19 at the break, 39-20.
The Cowgirls added to their lead by scoring the first nine points coming out of the locker room until Kate Eveland (Southlake, Texas) notched a lay-up at 17:19 and the moved the score to 48-22. Eveland's next bucket would get the Aztecs to within 25 points at 51-26, but the deficit quickly grew into the 30s, before Wyoming ended with game with the 78-45 victory.
Wyoming was led by Megan McGuffey's 14 points, while three other Cowgirls finished in double-figure points.
SDSU returns to the Rocky Mountain region next week as the Aztecs open the 2006 Mountain West Conference Championships next Tues., March 7, at 5 p.m. (MST) at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. SDSU will face either Colorado State or Air Force.