Nov. 20, 2007
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team forced 35 turnovers and had all 11 of its players score points, as the Aztecs cruised to an 86-52 victory over Southern Utah in their home opener Tuesday at Cox Arena. SDSU improved to 3-0 on the season, giving head coach Beth Burns her 250th career win, while the Thunderbirds fell to 1-3 overall in 2007-08.
"I couldn't be more thrilled with how we have started all three of our games, which tells us that we've had great preparation and really gotten after it offensively and defensively," Burns said. "We're still working on (our effort) in the second half, but some of that speaks to the fact that we're starting two freshmen and two sophomores. We need to stay locked in, which is going to be our challenge all year long. This is a new, improved and evolving team, and the biggest thing that I hope people can see is that we will only get better and better."
San Diego State had three players finish in double-figure points, including leading scorer freshman center Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.), who had 14 points and a team-best six rebounds and two blocks. Senior forward Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) recorded 10 of her 12 points in the first half, while freshman forward Allison Duffy (Lakeside, Calif.) contributed 10 points off the bench.
The Aztecs logged a season-high eight 3-pointers, 23 steals and 26 assists. Sophomore Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.) led the defensive effort with a career-tying seven steals to go with her team-high nine assists and no turnovers in just 21 minutes of action.
SDSU got off to a quick start and never looked back, jumping out to an early 12-0 lead, before Southern Utah could get on the board with a layup at the 16:21 mark. The Aztecs went on an 18-7 run over the next seven minutes to go up by 21 at 30-9, and led by 25 at the break, 43-18.
The Thunderbirds cut their deficit down to as few 17 points with 9:19 remaining at 59-42, but the Aztecs responded with a 4-0 run with back-to-back baskets from Duffy and finished on a 21-8 scoring streak to claim their fifth-straight in the series, 86-52.
Southern Utah's Anne Westwood had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Erin Heuett contributed 11 points and four assists in the losing effort.
San Diego State travels to Los Angeles for the Loyola Marymount/Ayres Hotel Thanksgiving Tournament, Nov. 23-24. The Aztecs face Indiana State on Friday at 2 p.m., and will then play either Jackson State or host LMU on Saturday at 2 or 4 p.m.