Nov. 4, 2010
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team hit its first eight shots from the field to open a 19-6 lead and never looked back, easily handling visiting UC San Diego, 86-43, Thursday evening at Viejas Arena in its first and only exhibition contest of the 2010-11 season.
"I think we did really well, but we have a lot of new parts that we have to integrate," SDSU head coach Beth Burns said. "We had some more turnovers than we would have liked early, but we adjusted well when they tried to take our two (post players) out of the game. We might not have the same kind of speed top to bottom (as we had last year), but I think we have really good size and really good shooters. As we continue to gain chemistry and play together, we'll get better. Overall, everyone who played did something well."
Aztec senior forward Jessika Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.) recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in only 23 minutes of action. Senior Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.), who was 7-for-7 from the field, and sophomore Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.), who saw her first court time in an SDSU uniform, tied for the team lead in points with 14 apiece. Senior guard Coco Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) also contributed a double-double with 10 assists and 12 points, while all 11 Aztecs to see action scored at least one bucket.
After the two sides traded field goals to open the evening, SDSU used its dominance in the paint to rattle off eight consecutive points in a span of less than two minutes, before pushing its lead up to 13 on three consecutive triples by Clements and sophomore Gabrielle Clark (Los Angeles, Calif.).
The Aztec advantage moved out to 19 points, but the Tritons kept it to within 15 points on three occasions, including with 2:37 left in the first half. SDSU, however, went on a 10-4 run and went into the locker room up 47-26.
The lead would eventually get into the 30s at the 11:22 mark of the second half at 66-36 on a free throw by Davis and ended up settling at 43 points at 86-43 at the end of the game.
SDSU shot 57.8 percent from the field, including a 67.9 mark in the first half, and owned a plus-18 advantage on the glass. The Aztecs had 22 assists, 17 blocked shots and 12 steals on the night.
UC San Diego was led by All-American guard Chelsea Carlisle, who posted 12 points and four steals in 28 minute of action.
The Aztecs will officially open the season next Friday, when they take on No. 16/15 UCLA at 7 p.m. at Viejas Arena. Tickets are available for the two schools' first meeting since 1999, and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 619-220-8497 or via ticketmaster.com. Fans can also visit the Viejas Arena Box Office or the Aztec Ticket Office at Qualcomm Stadium (window E).