Jan. 28, 2009
FT.WORTH, Texas - The San Diego State women's basketball team had a 16-point first-half lead, but couldn't hold on in the final minutes, as TCU hit two game-clinching free throws with 22 seconds remaining to claim the 65-62 victory Wednesday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. With the loss, the Aztecs saw their three-game win streak come to an end, falling to 13-5 on the year and 4-2 in conference action, while the Lady Frogs improved to 13-7 and 5-2 in league play action.
SDSU had two players finish with double-doubles, as sophomore center Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) notched her third in a row and eighth of the year with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while matching a career best with six blocked shots to go with three assists and three steals. Senior Jennifer Layton-Bailes (Sacramento, Calif.) grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds and scored 16 points, while junior guard Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.) was the team's high scorer with 17 points.
Junior Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) finished with six assists and her sister, Coco Davis, added six points, seven rebounds and was one of three Aztecs with three steals.
Each of the SDSU's first four field goals were all from long distance, including two by Coco Davis, for a 12-5 advantage at the 15:07 mark. TCU staged a come back with the help of a jumper and three straight free throws to climb to within four at 14-10. SDSU then went on a 12-0 run, capped by three straight fast break lay-ups to go up by 16 points, its largest lead of the night, at 26-10.
The Lady Frogs finally broke through on consecutive three-pointers from the top of the key by T.K. LaFluer and Emily Carter to cut their deficit down to 10 at 26-16. The Aztecs held on to a double-figure advantage until the 4:32 mark when TCU went on a 9-4 run to end the half and get to within five at 34-29 at the break.
After the home team hit two free throws out of the locker room to climb back to within three, San Diego State went on an 8-2 run to go up by nine points at 42-33. TCU reclaimed the momentum in the game after the two sides traded free throws, as a three-point play sparked a 10-0 run pulling the Lady Frogs even at 44 points apiece.
The two sides were tied four more times and the lead changed hands on seven occasions until a driving lay-up by LaFluer put the home team ahead for good at 63-61 with 1:17 remaining.
SDSU had a chance to even the contest on the next trip down the court, but Morris missed her second of two free throws as the Aztecs trailed by one with 50 seconds left. SDSU looked to get the ball back after pulling off a stop on defense with Johnson tallying her sixth blocked shot of the night, but after Layton-Bailes grabbed the rebound, she was called for traveling.
The Aztecs were forced to foul and Helena Sverrisdottir made both of her free throws to secure the 65-62 win.
San Diego State outshot (41.7 percent-40.0) and outrebounded TCU (38-31), but the Lady Frogs hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the second half and went to the line 15 more times. The Aztecs also had 20 turnovers in the loss.
TCU was led by LaFleur and Carter, who each tallied 18 points and shot a combined 6-for-6 from three-point land.
San Diego State starts a two-game homestand on Saturday when the Aztecs play host to Colorado State at 2 p.m. PT at Cox Arena. Chris Ello will have the live audio/video call on SDSU's official website, www.goaztecs.com.