March 3, 2007
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team concluded its 2006-07 regular season with a 67-48 loss to visiting New Mexico Saturday at Cox Arena. The Lobos used a plus-17 margin on the boards and 37 trips to the free-throw line to improve to 21-8 overall and 11-5 in league action, while the Aztecs fell to 12-15 overall and 5-11 in conference play.
SDSU got 13 points from both freshman guard Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) and junior forward Shannon Clay (Inglewood, Calif.), who matched her season high with her fourth-straight game in double-figure scoring. Clay also added a team-high eight rebounds and three blocks, while Davis contributed five rebounds and three assists in her 34 minutes of action. Playing in her final home contest, senior Desiree Johnson (Kahuku, Hawaii) had eight points, four boards and three assists before fouling out.
After New Mexico opened the afternoon with the first basket, SDSU took the lead on a three-pointer by Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.). The Aztecs maintained their advantage for almost 10 minutes, going up by as many as seven, before the Lobos went on an 11-0 run to jump ahead, 22-17. New Mexico twice held a seven-point lead in the first half, but SDSU had the deficit down to just three on a Davis jumper at the buzzer, 33-30.
The Lobos got two quick baskets coming out of the locker room and their lead would get into double-figures at the 16:05 mark on a layup by Julie Briody at 45-34. The Aztecs moved to within six on a pair of back-to-back Davis buckets, but would never get any closer, as New Mexico went up by as many as 21 points, before claiming the 67-48 victory.
SDSU actually outshot New Mexico by two percentage points from the field (34.7 to 32.7), but the Lobos owned a 45-28 advantage on the glass and converted on an SDSU opponent season-high 30 of their 37 free-throw attempts.
UNM was led by Dionne Marsh and Briody, who each tallied 21 points. Briody was 16-for-16 at the line, making 10 of those attempts in the first half, while Marsh added 10 rebounds in 40 minutes of action.
San Diego State will head to the 2007 Mountain West Conference Championships next week in Las Vegas, Nev., at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV. The Aztecs are the tournament's No. 7 seed and will square off against the No. 2 seed Wyoming Cowgirls at noon PT on Wed., March 7.