Jan. 15, 2011
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team logged its second consecutive three-point victory, holding on in the game's final possession to edge visiting New Mexico, 56-53, Saturday afternoon at Viejas Arena. With the win, the Aztecs improved to 8-8 overall and 2-2 in conference action, while the Lobos dropped to 6-9 on the year and remained winless in league play at 0-3.
SDSU had three players score 10 points apiece, including seniors Jessika Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.) and Coco Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) and sophomore Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.). Bradley also had a team-high nine rebounds for the second consecutive outing and posted five assists and three blocked shots in 38 minutes of action. Davis notched five assists of her own, while junior Sajoyia Griffin (San Antonio, Texas) matched her career high with nine points all in the first half.
Griffin scored the game's first five points, as the Aztecs once again raced out to an early lead, going up 11-0 as the Lobos missed their first seven shots. UNM finally broke through at the 16:21 mark when Amanda Best hit a rebound bucket, but SDSU answered with a Bradley lay-up and would keep its lead in the double-figures for most of the first half.
The Lobos managed to stay in the game at the free-throw line, hitting 10 of their 11 opportunities to account for nearly half of their point total, as the Aztecs were up 34-22 heading into the locker room.
San Diego State pushed its advantage up to 14 points three times in the first five minutes after the break only to have New Mexico come storming back. The Lobos used a pair of free throws and four consecutive Aztec turnovers to ignite a 12-0 run and close to just a two-point deficit at 46-44 with 8:48 left in the game.
The two sides traded two buckets apiece before Davis looked to restore order with back-to-back triples with the score at 52-44. UNM continued to stay in the game, however, as Jasmine Patterson hit a 3-pointer to get to with two points and the visitors had a chance to tie it with Porche Torrance heading to the free-throw line with 30 seconds left. Torrance made the first, but missed the second and Davis made two free throws on the other end to put the host squad back into the lead by three points.
Following a time out, Lobo Amanda Best missed a 3-pointer on the right wing that would have tied it and Davis secured the defensive rebound to get the 56-53 Aztec victory.
Neither side shot above 40 percent from the field, as San Diego State made 20 of its 55 shots and New Mexico converted only 18 of its 56 opportunities. The Aztecs dominated the glass by owning a season-high plus-24 margin (50-26), while also shooting over 92 percent at the free-throw line, including a perfect 6-for-6 effort in the second half.
The Lobos were led by Jasmine Patterson's 16 points and Jessica Kielpinski's 11 rebounds.
SDSU plays just one game next week when it heads to Colorado Springs, Colo., for a Wednesday contest at Air Force, beginning at 6 p.m. PT.