Feb. 15, 2011
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - On a night when neither side shot the ball well, the San Diego State women's basketball team claimed its third consecutive victory and won at The Pit for the third year in a row, defeating host New Mexico, 50-44, on Tuesday evening in Albuquerque. The Aztecs improved to 11-13 overall and 5-7 in league action, while the Lobos, who shot only 22.6 percent from the field, fell to 9-14 and 3-8 in MWC play.
All nine SDSU players to see action scored at least one point with senior Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) leading the way with a team-best nine. Classmate Jessika Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.) added eight points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, while freshman Melissa Sweat (Bakersfield, Calif.) contributed seven and three steals. Junior Kalena Tutt (Long Beach, Calif.) had a career-high nine rebounds and scored five of her six points in the second half.
SDSU got off to a rough start committing 11 turnovers and going 2-for-11 from the field, but still trailed by only three points at 10-7, as the Lobos weren't much better, making only three of their first 17 shots by the 7:50 mark.
The Aztecs hit their first bucket after a drought of nearly six and a half minutes on a lay-up by Bradley to jump ahead at 11-10. The two sides then traded leads four more times before SDSU used its advantage on the boards to start a 12-0 run and build an 11-point lead at 25-14 with 1:43 remaining.
New Mexico would close that gap at the half, finishing with a 3-pointer by Morgan Toben to head into the locker room down by eight at 27-19.
The Lobos opened with another triple and a lay-up within the first 1:01 after the break, as the Aztecs' lead dwindled to just three points at 27-24. SDSU responded with a basket from Johnson and two in a row by junior Candace Chambers (Seattle, Wash.) to move it out to seven-point advantage, only to have UNM answer back on two triples at the 10:31 mark with the score 36-34.
The home team got to within one at 37-36 and had several possessions to take the lead, but the Aztecs outscored the Lobos 10-0 and looked to be up by a comfortable margin once again at 47-36. Over the next three minutes, New Mexico made a final push, drawing to within four on a pair of free throws by Amanda Best.
Following an SDSU turnover, Toben missed a 3-pointer with under a minute remaining and the Aztecs went on to make three of four free-throw attempts in the final 45 seconds to secure the 50-44 victory.
San Diego State owned a slight plus-six advantage on the glass (52-46) and shot 71.4 percent from the free-throw line, while tallying 10 steals and six blocks. The Lobos made only 14 of 26 field-goal attempts and were outscored 26-14 in the paint.
UNM was led by Jasmine Patterson's 10 points and Best's 14 rebounds.
The Aztecs will look to avenge a loss earlier this season to Air Force on Saturday, when the Falcons come to Viejas Arena for a 2 p.m. PT tip-off.