Jan. 4, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY - The San Diego State women's basketball team led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but was unable to pull off the upset as the visiting Aztecs fell to the host Utah Utes, 51-48, Thursday night in both teams' 2007 conference openers at the Huntsman Center. With the loss, SDSU's fell to 7-5 on the year and 0-1 in conference play, while Utah, which made 22 of its 24 free throws, improved to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in the MWC.
The Aztecs were led by freshman point guard Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) who scored 14 points with nine of those coming from beyond the arc. Davis also tallied a team-best eight assists and was one of three SDSU players to end the evening with five rebounds. Juniors Shannon Clay (Inglewood, Calif.) and Jennifer Layton (Sacramento, Calif.) added eight and seven points respectively in the loss.
SDSU led by as many as 13 points in the first half and was up by 11 at 27-16 at halftime with the help of 15 Utah turnovers. The Utes, however, recovered in the second 20-minute period, going on a 12-4 run coming out of the locker room to get to within just three points at 31-28. A Davis three-pointer moved the SDSU lead back up to six at 34-28, but Utah later countered with a three-point play by Joh-Teena Filipe and took the lead on Kalee Whipple's layup in the paint at 39-38 with 7:36 remaining in the game.
The two schools traded leads two more times and were tied on three occasions, including as late as the 4:01 mark at 43 points apiece. Coming out of the tie, Utah ran off six straight points, before SDSU put together back-to-back baskets, including another Davis triple from the top of the key to get to within one at 49-48.
The Aztecs missed a chance to take the lead when Desiree Johnson (Kahuku, Hawaii) went to the line for a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left, but the senior missed both of them. Utah, which made 19 of 21 free throws in the second half, iced the game with two foul shots by Brette Ulsaker to pull out the 51-48 win.
Despite the loss, Utah's three-point margin of victory was its smallest over San Diego State in a game played in Salt Lake City since the Aztecs beat the Utes, 70-55, in 1995.
Utah was led by Filipe, who tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
San Diego State continues its opening MWC road trip with a Saturday night contest at UNLV, beginning at 7 p.m. at Cox Pavilion.