Jan. 25, 2007
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team cut a 15-point second-half deficit down to just three with just over a minute remaining, but was unable to complete the come back, falling to Brigham Young 54-49 Thursday evening at Cox Arena. With the loss, the Aztecs dropped their first conference home game this season, falling to 2-4 in league action and 9-8 overall, while the Cougars improved to 15-4 and stayed undefeated in conference play at 6-0.
SDSU was led by junior guard Kate Eveland (Southlake, Texas), who ignited the team's second-half rally with a pair of three-pointers, finishing the night with 15 points. Eveland made three of the Aztecs' five three-pointers, extending her streak of games with at least one triple to 14 straight. She was helped offensively by freshman Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.), who scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half, while adding three assists and three steals.
Junior forward Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) continued her solid defensive play with a team-best four steals to go with a team-high eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
San Diego State led by as many as six points early in the game, but then was unable to find its shooting rhythm, ending the first 20 minutes of action with a 16.7 shooting percentage from the field. Despite the poor shooting performance, the Aztecs trailed by just nine points at 30-21 at the half with the help of 11 offensive rebounds and 12 BYU turnovers.
The Cougars added to their lead coming out of the locker room, going up by as many as 15 points three times, including as late as the 8:16 mark at 48-33. Eveland, however, began the SDSU rally with a pair of three pointers and a layup off a steal, as the Aztecs went on a 10-0 run to get to within five at 48-43 with 6:07 left.
BYU answered back and was up by nine points at 52-43, but three quick Aztec baskets put the host down by just three with 1:03 remaining. SDSU got a chance to tie the game after a Cougar turnover, but Jennifer Layton's three-pointer from the left baseline bounced off the front of the rim. BYU made two of its three free-throw attempts in the final few seconds to secure the 54-49 victory.
The Aztecs ended the night with 17 offensive rebounds, 12 steals and just 12 turnovers to tie a season-low. SDSU limited BYU, which was led by Dani Wright's 12 points, to its third-lowest point total this season.
The SDSU women's basketball team hits the road for two straight games, traveling to Fort Worth, Texas and TCU on Sunday, followed by a Wednesday evening game at New Mexico.