Feb. 26, 2011
PROVO, UTAH - The San Diego State women's basketball team had a 16-point second-half lead, but then managed only three points in a span of over nine minutes, as host BYU rallied to tie the score three times before utilizing a 5-0 run in the final 1:32 to defeat the Aztecs 56-52 Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center. With the loss, SDSU saw its four-game win streak come to an end, falling to 12-14 overall and 6-8 in league action, while the Cougars won their 10th in a row to improve to 21-7 and maintain their top spot in the MWC at 13-1.
Aztec senior Jessika Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.) scored 15 of her team-best 17 points in the first half and added 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year. Junior Sajoyia Griffin (San Antonio, Texas) had a career-high in both points (11) and rebounds (6), while contributing a pair of assists and steals. Senior Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) was limited by foul trouble the entire game, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds in 20 minutes of action. The team's third senior, Coco Davis (Sacramento, Calif.), posted six of SDSU's 13 assists, but missed all 12 of her field-goal attempts with six of those from beyond the arc.
After the host Cougars opened scoring with two free throws, the Aztecs answered with a bucket by three different players, including a triple, to go up 7-2. BYU hit its first field goal at the 15:06 mark and promptly made one more to cut its deficit down to just one at 7-6 and later at 9-8.
Bradley tallied nine of the visitors' next 11 points, as they pushed back out to a six-point advantage at 18-12. After a quick rest, Bradley continued to score inside, adding six more to her 15 first-half points and sparking a 10-2 run capped by a triple from freshman Melissa Sweat (Bakersfield, Calif.) and a 3-point play following a steal by Griffin to put the Aztecs up by 13 with 2:32 until the break.
BYU countered by scoring five of the game's next seven points to trim SDSU's lead down to just 10 points at 34-24 at the half.
The two sides traded baskets coming out of the locker room, but the Aztecs then got a triple out of the corner from Griffin and a fastbreak lay-up from Johnson and later found themselves up by 16 points just under four minutes into the second half at 44-28.
The Cougars then began to push, as the SDSU offense managed only three points in a span of over nine minutes, as BYU went on a tear and rallied all the way back to tie the score at 47 with 6:58 left in the game. The sides were equal two more occasions, until the home squad got a triple by Haley Hall to go up by a pair at 54-52.
The Aztecs had two chances to tie the game, but Bradley missed an open lay-up and Griffin was unable to make the front end of a 1-and-1, as they were forced to foul with 15 seconds left. Hall then converted both from the charity stripe to make it a four-point game and SDSU missed two tries to get to within a pair as the Cougars corralled the rebound to preserve the 56-52 victory.
Both sides shot under 40 percent from the field for the game, but the Aztecs made only four buckets after the break, negating a 42-31 advantage on the boards, including a 14-6 mark on the offensive glass.
BYU was led by Coriann Fraughton's 10 points, while Hall finished with seven, including the game's final five points.
San Diego State heads back to Viejas Arena for senior night, as the Aztecs play host to Wyoming on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT. The game will be the final regular-season home contest for SDSU's three seniors, Bradley, Davis and Johnson.