Dec. 7, 2010
MALIBU, Calif. - The San Diego State women's basketball team got double-doubles from seniors Jessika Bradley and Coco Davis to help propel the Aztecs to a 75-61 victory over host Pepperdine Tuesday at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. SDSU avenged an overtime loss to the Waves last season to claim its' second win in a row and improve to 3-4 on the year, while Pepperdine dropped to 5-5 in 2010-11.
Several Aztecs had career nights with Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.) posting a career-high 16 points, including 12 in the second half, to go with 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the year and fourth of her career. Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) found her shooting touch recording 10 of her 14 points in the first half, while matching her career high with 10 assists to tally her first double-double in the Red & Black.
Junior Kalena Tutt (Long Beach, Calif.) notched her first career double-figure scoring outing after going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 at the line for 11 points, and senior Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) was the fourth Aztec in double-figures with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
San Diego State trailed just once in the game, when Pepperdine hit the opening basket of the night at 2-0. Davis and Johnson then combined to record all 12 of the Aztecs' first points leading into the media timeout. SDSU would go up by six on a Davis triple at 16-10 and later built a nine-point advantage following an 8-1 run.
The visitors' interior shooting began to cool and Pepperdine took advantage of several Aztec turnovers in the back court to climb all the way back to within four on three occasions. SDSU, however, headed into the locker room with a six-point lead at 35-29, as the Waves were unable to covert on a last-second jumper.
The Aztecs got each of their first six points after the break from their senior front court duo of Johnson and Bradley and later utilized a pair of nifty passes on the baseline to push ahead 45-33, as the Wave offense went dormant for nearly four minutes.
After Pepperdine cut it to a 10-point deficit, San Diego State turned on the after burners on the offensive end, more than doubling its advantage out to 21 points at 68-47 over the next seven minutes. The Waves made a late run with the Aztec starters already on the bench, getting to within 14 points on two occasions, including the final score, 75-61.
San Diego State shot a season-high 56.4 percent from the field, including over 65 percent in the second half, and recorded a season-best 26 assists. Pepperdine, meanwhile, made only 19 of its 70 field-goal attempts (27.1 percent). The Waves were led by junior Jazmine Jackson's 13 points and Skye Barnett's 10 rebounds.
SDSU will take an 11-day break between games to prepare for final exams. The team will resume action a week from Saturday against Dayton at the Women of Troy Classic at USC, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m.