Jan. 16, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - Despite a career-high 25 points from Aztec sophomore Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.), the San Diego State women's basketball dropped a 74-62 decision at Utah Wednesday evening at the Huntsman Center. With the loss, SDSU fell to 9-6 overall and 0-3 in conference play, while the Utes, who shot over 64 percent from the field in the second half, improved to 13-3 and 2-0 in league action.
Morris scored 16 of her career-best 25 points in the second half, beating her previous high of 20 points set earlier this season against Quinnipiac. The guard recorded her third straight double-figure scoring outing in as many chances in league action. Morris was 10-for-18 from the field and made all but two of her seven free-throw attempts, while also contributing a team-best five rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes.
Two SDSU starters, forward Allison Duffy (Lakeside, Calif.) and guard Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.), scored nine points apiece. Davis added three assists and Duffy chipped in three of the team's eight steals on the night.
The Aztecs opened the game with the first bucket on a jumper by Duffy. The Utes responded with two straight baskets to go up by two, before a Morris jumper tied the score at four points apiece. Utah broke out of the tie with one of three triples in the first 20 minutes from Morgan Warburton.
The Utes remained ahead the rest of the half, but the Aztecs, who trailed by eight points on two occasions at 18-10 and 20-12, cut their deficit down to just a pair at 26-24, following three straight Morris free throws with 3:34 remaining. Utah, however, finished the half strong, going on an 8-0 run and owning a 10-point advantage of 34-24 at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, SDSU got the Utah lead down to single-digits on a three-point play by Morris at 38-31. Utah then went on a 9-0 run to jump out to its biggest lead of the night at 16 points at 47-31, and was up by 17 at 54-37 with just under 11 minutes left in the game.
The Aztecs' rallied from that point, using a pair of free throws by senior Shanna Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) to jump start an 8-0 run, while keeping the Ute offense scoreless for nearly four and a half minutes, as SDSU trailed by just nine at the 8:51 mark.
The nine point margin would be as close as the Aztecs could get the rest of the way, as Utah made 12-of-14 free-throw attempts in the final three minutes to secure the 74-62 victory.
San Diego State owned a 14-7 edge on the offensive boards and committed just three more turnovers than Utah, but could not overcome the Utes' 55.8 field-goal percentage on the night.
Utah was led by Warburton's 23 points, while point guard Leilani Mitchell tallied 19 points, six steals and five assists in playing all 40 minutes.
The Aztecs continue their two-game road swing with a trip to No. 20 Wyoming for a Saturday afternoon contest in Laramie, Wyo., at 2 p.m. MT.