Nov. 29, 2008
HONOLULU -
SDSU-PVAMU Box Score in PDF Format
The San Diego State women's basketball team had three, 13-point leads early in the game, but had to hold off several charges by Prairie View A&M to earn the 58-53 victory on Saturday in the second day of the Waikiki Marriott Beach Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. With the win, the Aztecs improved to 4-2, while the Lady Panthers dropped to 1-5.
Sophomore center Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.), who had a career-high 31 points on Friday, came back for the second day in a row with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting and also tallied eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Senior forward Jennifer Layton-Bailes (Sacramento, Calif.) posted her first double-double of the year and the third of her career with 15 points and 10 boards in her second start of 2008-09.
Junior Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) tallied six assists for the second straight outing, while also hauling in six rebounds and notching three steals and two blocked shots in 38 minutes of action. Her sister Coco Davis (Sacarmento, Calif.) had a career-high seven rebounds and came away with three steals, giving the sophomore 12 steals in her last three games.
San Diego State got off to a solid start with Layton-Bailes hitting a three-pointer from top of the arc and Johnson putting in a lay-up for the early 5-0 lead. After a Lady Panther basket at the 17:30 mark, the Aztecs added to their advantage with another two buckets by the pair of front court players.
At 9-4, SDSU went on an eight-point run to go up by 13 at 17-4. The Aztecs led by as many as 13 again at 29-16 with 6:46 remaining, but Prairie View got to within six at 30-24. A three-pointer Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.) at the buzzer gave San Diego State the 10-point halftime lead at 35-25.
The Aztecs continued their momentum coming out of the break with Johnson hitting a free throw and Quenese Davis finding a driving Layton-Bailes for a lay-up and another 13-point lead at 38-25.
After the initial offensive burst of the second half, the San Diego State offense stalled and the Lady Panthers crept all the way back to within just three points following a 10-0 run at 38-35 at the 13:16 mark. Prairie View A&M tied the score at 41 points on a three-point play, but Jerica Williams (San Diego, Calif.) tallied her second three-pointer in the half and the Aztecs were once again in the lead at 44-41.
The game continued to be a battle with the Lady Panthers eating into the SDSU lead. PVAMU was down by just one at 52-51 with 4:57 remaining, but the Aztec tandem of Johnson and Layton-Bailes struck again with back-to-back baskets for a five-point advantage. From there, the SDSU defense took over, limiting the Lady Panthers to just two points in the final 4:57 to come away with the 58-53 win.
San Diego State shot over 40 percent from the field for the second straight game, but Prairie View earned the slight edge on the boards (42-41) and in the turnover (21-23) battle.
The Lady Panthers had four players in double-figures, including leading scorer Gaeti Werema, who tallied 12 points.
San Diego State finishes the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic on Sunday, as the Aztecs face the No. 25/22 ranked team in the nation in Iowa State at 11 a.m. HT. Live audio, featuring Chris Ello, will be available on SDSU's official website, www.goaztecs.com.