Feb. 6, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -
Freshman Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) had a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the San Diego State women's basketball team to a 62-45 victory over Air Force Wednesday night at Clune Arena. SDSU won its fourth straight game to improve to 4-4 in Mountain West Conference play and 13-7 overall, while the Falcons dropped to 1-7 and 7-13.
With the win, the Aztecs exceeded their win total of 12 from last season and now have their most victories since the 2000-01 team also won 13 times. It was also San Diego State's first four-game winning streak in conference play since it won eight consecutive contests to finish the 1997 campaign as members of the Western Athletic Conference.
Johnson started out hot for SDSU, scoring the team's first seven points and connecting on her first seven shots from the field. She finished the game 8-of-13 from the floor and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.) had 11 points and a game-high four steals, while sophomore Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) added seven points and a game-high 10 assists.
The Aztecs, who never trailed in the game, jumped out of the gate fast thanks in part to Johnson's impressive start and a staunch defense. A Shannon Clay (Inglewood, Calif.) lay-up at the 12:10 mark of the first half gave San Diego State a 16-7 lead, its largest lead of the game at that point.
Air Force called a timeout to try and stop SDSU's momentum and it seemed to work as it closed to within three at 16-13 on Chasmine Jones' lay-up with 10:22 left in the first half. The Aztecs, however, went on a 14-4 run to close the half and take a 30-16 lead heading into intermission.
The Falcons got to within 12 points on Brooke Cultra's 3-pointer with 16:55 left, but senior Kate Eveland's (Southlake, Texas) 3-pointer with 9:39 remaining capped a 14-4 San Diego State run to stretch its lead to 48-26. Air Force would get no closer than 17, giving the Aztecs their first victory over the Falcons in Colorado Springs since the 2004-05 season.
Air Force was led by Alecia Steele (11 points, six rebounds) and Pamela Findlay (10 points, seven rebounds).
SDSU will play host to TCU at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cox Arena.