Jan. 19, 2011
USAF Academy, Colo. - In a contest featuring 17 lead changes and 14 tie scores, the San Diego State women's basketball team came out on the losing side of its fifth consecutive conference game to be decided by three points or fewer, falling at Air Force, 61-58, Wednesday at Clune Arena. With the loss, the Aztecs dropped to 8-9 on the year and 2-3 in league action, while the Falcons improved to 6-11 and 1-3 in MWC play.
SDSU had three players score in double-figures, as senior Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) posted a team-best 13 points, including nine in the second half, to go with nine rebounds and three assists. Classmate Jessika Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.) had 10 of her 12 points in the first half and matched her career high with seven assists in 25 minutes. Sophomore Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.), meanwhile, was 4-for-8 from the field and perfect from beyond the arc for 10 points, her fourth consecutive outing in double-figure scoring.
Both squads opened the game by hitting four of their first seven shots from the field with the Aztecs going up by just a pair four times heading into the first media timeout. The Falcons took their first advantage of the night at 9-8 and the sides traded leads on three occasions before Air Force went up by five points.
SDSU equalized on a triple from Davis at 17 and would utilize a 10-5 run to gain its own five-point lead at 27-22. The Falcons came storming back, getting a 3-pointer from Raimee Beck followed by Dymond James' second three-point play of the half to tilt the score in the home team's favor, 30-29.
The Aztecs immediately jumped ahead with a 3-pointer from Clements, but Air Force finished the half with two fastbreak lay-ups and tied the score at 36 heading into the break.
Coming out of the locker room, the second half started with five lead changes over the first seven minutes of action. After the Falcons went up 45-43, San Diego State went scoreless for nearly six minutes until Johnson finally hit a bucket at the 10:36 mark. Luckily, Air Force managed just one point over that span themselves and led by only one at 46-45.
The game was tied at 49 for over three minutes and was knotted again at 51, 55 and 56 heading into the final two and a half minutes of the contest. A jumper by Alicia Leipprandt put the Falcons up by three points 59-56 with 1:45 left to go.
The Aztecs cut the deficit to a single point on a Davis jumper and Air Force missed their shot on the other end, but Johnson was tied up getting the rebound and the Falcons had the possession arrow with 17.7 seconds left still up 59-58.
San Diego State then fouled and Leipprandt made both free throws to move the score out to 61-58. The Aztecs had 15 seconds to equalize the game, but Sajoyia Griffin's 3-pointer from the top of the key failed to even hit the rim as the ball went out of bounds and Air Force rain out the clock to gain the 61-58 victory.
The Falcons finished the night shooting 49.8 percent from the field, including over 60 percent in the first half alone, and made 13 of 18 free throws. The Aztecs conversely were just 7-for-15 at the line, negating their season-low 12 turnovers and slight advantage in the rebounding department.
Air Force was led by Beck's 14 points and Leipprandt's 13 points.
SDSU will take a break from action, as it has a week to prepare for its next game, Wednesday, Jan. 26, against Brigham Young at Viejas Arena beginning at 7 p.m. PT.