March 7, 2009
LAS VEGAS - Entering its final game of the regular season, the San Diego State women's basketball team had everything to play for. With a win over host UNLV, the Aztecs could earn the No. 2 seed at next week's league championships and more importantly, could garner a share of the Mountain West Conference regular season title. With those two things at stake, San Diego State accomplished both by handing the Lady Rebels a 61-55 defeat Saturday afternoon at Cox Pavilion.
The Aztecs improved to 22-6 overall and ended the MWC campaign with a 13-3 mark to tie for the league regular season lead with Utah. The title is San Diego State's first since 1996-97 when the Aztecs finished atop the Western Athletic Conference and comes just one season after tying for fifth place in the league and three years after going winless in the Mountain West Conference. The fifth-place performance a year ago was SDSU's previous best finish in the 10-year history of the MWC.
"This is as special of a day as any of us in Red and Black have ever had," said SDSU head coach Beth Burns. "In March of 2006, we were (winless in league), and now we're talking about being co-Mountain West Conference champions with the University of Utah. (This accomplishment) speaks to every single person (at SDSU), including all of our support staff, our administration for giving us an opportunity to get this done and (men's head coach) Steve Fisher and his staff, who have been one of our best resources.
"I have to single out my coaching staff, both past and present. Not everyone wants as an assistant coach to sign for a (program) builder - they know what's in front of them. This (MWC title) is for the people who have been here to see this happen step-by-step. It's a wonderful thing, because it's shared by so many people."
Junior Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) had a game-high 20 points and four assists, while sophomore Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) set a Mountain West Conference record for blocked shots in a game with nine, including six in the first half, and also tied the Aztec school record held by Michelle Suman. Johnson tallied a career-high 15 rebounds, beating her previous best of 13 and recording the most by any SDSU player since 2003.
San Diego State junior Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.) added 14 points, including a critical three-pointer in the final minute, while senior Jennifer Layton-Bailes (Sacramento, Calif.) recorded nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
The Aztecs came out of the gate quickly, as Johnson scored the game's first three points. The SDSU lead grew to five on two straight Davis jumpers at 7-2, but the Lady Rebels caught up at 12 points apiece at the halfway point of the first half.
A three-point play by freshman Gabrielle Clark (Los Angeles, Calif.) put the Aztecs back up 15-12, however, UNLV responded with a 6-2 run for the home team's first advantage at 18-17.
The sides traded leads, as two free throws kick started an 8-0 Lady Rebel run with the San Diego State offense going dormant for almost five and a half minutes and the score 26-19 in UNLV's favor. Morris got the Aztecs back within striking distance in a hurry, nailing two three-pointers including one at the buzzer, as the visitors trailed by only one, 26-25, at the break.
San Diego State came out of the locker room by eventually taking the lead at the 17:29 mark on a Johnson lay-up at 32-31, but the advantage didn't last long, as UNLV continued to dominate the offensive glass. The score was tied on three occasions with neither side able to put the ball in the basket until the Aztecs put together an 8-0 run to go up by four, 52-48, with under five minutes to go.
The Lady Rebels closed the gap to just a pair and were down by only one at 54-53, until Morris hit a three-pointer at the 1:11 mark to put SDSU ahead by four at 57-53. Two UNLV free throws got them back to within one, but Davis answered at the line with two of her own and the Aztecs made two more at the charity stripe in the final 14 seconds to wrap up the 61-55 victory.
San Diego State shot only 37.3 percent from the field, but UNLV shot just 27.1 percent despite pulling down 29 offensive rebounds. The Aztecs themselves had a season-high 51 rebounds and ended the afternoon with 12 blocked shots.
The Lady Rebels were led by Shamela Hampton's and India Chaney's 13 points, while freshman Jaime Smith tallied a double-double in the loss.
With their No. 2 seed, the Aztecs earned a bye into the Mountain West Conference semifinals at next week's league championships at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. SDSU will play on Friday, March 13, at 2:30 p.m. against either No. 2 seed TCU, No. 6 seed BYU or No. 7 seed UNLV. The game, which will be televised live on The Mtn., will feature a live audio call, with Chris Ello, and live stats on SDSU's official website, www.goaztecs.com.
2009 Cococo MWC Championships
Las Vegas, Nev. - Thomas & Mack Center
Tuesday, March 10 - 1st Round
Game 1 - #9 Air Force vs. #4 New Mexico, 2 p.m.
Game 2 - #8 Colorado State vs. #5 Wyoming, 4:30 p.m.
Game 3 - #6 BYU vs. #7 UNLV, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11 - 2nd Round
Game 4 - Game #1 Win vs. Game #2 Win, 4:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Game #3 Win vs. #3 TCU, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 13 - Semifinals
Game 6 - Game #4 Winner vs. #1 Utah, Noon
Game 7 - Game #5 Winner vs. #2 San Diego State, 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 15 - Finals
Finals, 1 p.m.
All times are Pacific Time