Nov. 30, 2010
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team outscored host University of San Diego 15-6 in overtime to cap a dramatic rally Tuesday night, as the Aztecs came away with a 72-63 victory. SDSU, which trailed by 12 points with just 8:25 left to play, improved to 2-4 overall and won for the first time at Jenny Craig Pavilion since the annual series restarted in 2002. The Toreros fell to 4-2 on the year and have lost back-to-back games and three of the last four versus the Aztecs.
"This win was really exciting and valuable for our team," said SDSU head coach Beth Burns. "This is our fourth game in seven days and the way we won the battle of the boards (tonight), how we got the 50-50 boards and the fact that we worked really hard to improve at the free-throw line was rewarding. Even though we shot really poorly (from the field), we didn't let that take us out of the game and we kept fighting."
San Diego State senior Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) and sophomore Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.) combined for 40 of the team's 72 points on the night. Johnson posted her fourth game this season with 19 or more points, finishing with 22, including a 10-for-12 effort at the stripe. Clements, meanwhile, had 18 points, six rebounds and a career-high three steals.
Johnson also had nine boards herself, matching the team game-high also put up by her front court teammate Jessika Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.). Senior Coco Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) had nine points and five assists, while junior Kalena Tutt (Long Beach, Calif.) had a career-best eight rebounds in 23 minutes of play.
The Aztecs had three turnovers in their first four possessions of the night, as the host Toreros raced to a 5-0 lead. SDSU got a rebound basket plus the foul from Johnson to get on the board three minutes into the game to cut the deficit to only a pair. USD would go up by as many as seven at the 14:52 mark, but the Aztecs then kept it to within two possessions before gaining their first lead of the night on a lay-up by Melissa Sweat (Bakersfield, Calif.) off a full-court assist from Davis at 21-19.
The Toreros scored their first points after an over five-minute drought to tie the contest at 21 apiece and the two sides traded leads before heading into the break with the home side up 25-22, after SDSU failed to score for the final 4:25.
The second half began much the same way as the first with the Aztecs turning the ball over three times, while USD once again went up by seven at 31-24. Clements scored each of San Diego State's first seven points, helping to close the gap to only two, before the Aztecs' shooting woes began to catch up with them as USD reeled off a 14-4 run to gain its largest lead at 47-35 heading into a timeout.
San Diego State finally began to hit some shots with the help of point guard Sajoyia Griffin (San Antonio, Texas), who was saddled by foul trouble most of the night, but notched a 3-pointer and two free throws followed by a Clements jumper to get the deficit down to five at 47-42.
It was only a three-point game heading into the final two minutes, as Davis dribbled the ball all the way down the floor, hit the lay-up and was fouled, making the free throw to tie the score at 55-55. USD went up by two after Dominique Connors stole the ball when San Diego State attempted to break a full-court press, but Johnson equalized with two free throws.
The Aztecs had the final possession in regulation, coming out of a timeout with nine seconds left, but Bradley's hook shot hit off the back of the rim forcing overtime.
Bradley struck back on the first possession in overtime, hitting a reverse lay-up as SDSU opened the extra period with a 6-0 run. The Toreros cut that deficit in half with just one shot, a 3-pointer from Sam Child. Johnson, however, matched that with a three-point play and the Aztecs made all six of their free-throw attempts in the final 25 seconds to secure the 72-63 victory.
San Diego State shot over 57 percent from the field in the extra five minutes, after barely breaking the 30-percent mark in the first half. The Aztecs had a +9 margin on the boards with 53 for the game, while they attempted 14 more free-throws than USD, making 23 of them.
Connors had 23 points, while Emily Hatch pulled down 17 rebounds for the Toreros.
SDSU will have a week to prepare for its next game, as the Aztecs travel to another West Coast Conference opponent, Pepperdine next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Malibu, Calif.