Feb. 12, 2011
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team posted a season high in scoring, getting 22 points from Courtney Clements and 18 from Paris Johnson, to cruise by visiting UNLV 77-60 Saturday at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs swept the season series between the two foes and earned their second consecutive win to improve to 10-13 overall and 4-7 in league action, while the Lady Rebels dropped to 9-16 and 2-9 in MWC play.
Clements (Long Beach, Calif.) notched 18 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, hitting on each of her first four shots and finishing 10-for-16 to go with five rebounds and four assists. Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, while adding 10 boards for her second consecutive double-double and team-best sixth of the year. Sophomore center Malia Nahinu (Hayward, Calif.) contributed a career-high nine points and Jessika Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.) and Melissa Sweat (Bakersfield, Calif.) each had eight. Senior Coco Davis (Sacramento, Calif.) tallied seven of the team's 23 assists on the afternoon.
Clements got the Aztecs off to a quick start, making four of the team's first five baskets for the 10-5 advantage. UNLV cut it to a three-point deficit with a lay-up, but San Diego State put together a 13-2 run highlighted by a trio of triples to go up 23-9 at the 9:28 mark. The Lady Rebels, however, closed to seven points at 31-24 and headed into the locker room down by only eight at 37-29.
After the break, UNLV was within seven points twice in the first two and a half minutes, before the Aztecs put their foot on the pedal, scoring three consecutive buckets in the paint to go up 45-32. SDSU's advantage was 10 points at the 11:26 mark, but would double with 7:22 to play on a jumper from Nahinu at 61-41. The home team led by as many as 24 points and finally settled for the 17-point win at 77-60 at the final buzzer.
The Aztecs held the Lady Rebels to only two baskets through the first 15 minutes of the second half, as the visitors shot just 30.4 percent from the field for the game and scored 23 of their 60 points at the free-throw line. SDSU, meanwhile, shot over 70 percent after the break (14-for-19) and settled with a season-best 58.5 field-goal percentage on the afternoon. The Aztecs owned a plus-seven advantage on the glass and had 12 blocked shots to give them a combined 26 rejections in the two contests this season vs. UNLV.
The Lady Rebels were led by Markiell Styles' 16 points and Jamie Smith's 10 rebounds.
San Diego State returns to the road for the third time in the last four outings when it plays at New Mexico on Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT at The Pit. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.