Feb. 15, 2007
USAF Academy, Colo. -
Complete Box Score in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The San Diego State women's basketball team let a 10-point second-half lead slip away as the Aztecs were outscored 17-8 in the final 6:21, falling to Air Force, 60-52, Thursday night at Clune Arena. With the loss, SDSU remained winless on the road in conference action, dropping to 11-11 overall and 4-7 in the MWC, while Air Force, which shot 61.9 percent from the field in the second half, improved to 5-18 and 1-11 in league play.
San Diego State had two players finish in double-figures, including junior Shannon Clay (Inglewood, Calif.), who tied her career-best with 12 points in her first career start, and junior Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.), who added 11. The pair, however, scored 19 of their combined 23 points in the first half, as the Aztecs managed just 21 points in the final 20 minutes of action.
Demus and senior Desiree Johnson (Kahuku, Hawaii) ended the night with nine rebounds apiece, and sophomore Tamika Lipford (Oceanside, Calif.) contributed four steals. Freshman point guard Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) had seven assists, but was limited to just six points.
Air Force got off to a quick 5-0 lead with all five points, including a triple, coming via Pamela Findlay. The Aztecs finally kick started their offense at the 17:37 mark on a layup by Demus and knotted the game at five all on a bucket by Davis and a Demus free throw. The two schools were tied again three more occasions, until SDSU surged ahead on consecutive layups in the paint by Clay at 16-11.
The Falcons got to within one at 20-19, but the Aztecs sprinted into halftime on an 11-4 run to head into the locker room up by eight at 31-23.
After a Clay basket pushed the visitor's advantage into double-figures, SDSU's lead quickly diminished as Air Force went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 33 points at the 14:52 mark. The Aztecs answered back with four straight points, but the Falcons continued to respond, tying the score at 37 and then jumping ahead first by five at 49-44 and then by seven at 55-48 with 2:05 remaining.
Coming of a timeout, SDSU got two back on a runner by Davis and then another two on a layup by Johnson, but still trailed by three with 42.9 seconds remaining at 55-52. Air Force added a pair on two free throws and got a fastbreak layup off a steal to eventually close out the 60-52 victory.
The Falcons were led by Brooke Cultra's 12 points, while Findlay finished with 11. Air Force shot 48.8 percent from the field, compared to the Aztecs' 32.3 mark, off-setting SDSU's 15 steals and 23 offensive rebounds.
San Diego State heads back home to play host to Wyoming on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Cox Arena.