Nov. 20, 2011
Portland's Natalie Day hit the game-winning free throws with just 2.4 seconds remaining as the Pilots handed the San Diego State women's basketball team its first loss of the season 59-58 on Sunday in the final game of the Jack In The Box Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. SDSU dropped to 3-1 on the year, while the Pilots, who now own a pair of one-point victories in each of the two all-time meetings, improved to 3-2 in 2011-12.
Despite the loss, the Aztecs still claimed the tournament's first-place trophy as the winner was determined by total points allowed over the three contests due to a three-way tie for first place. SDSU gave up only 177 points, compared to DePaul's 211 and Portland's 221 as all three finished with 2-1 marks. Aztec junior Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.) was named the tournament MVP after averaging 21.3 points per outing and sophomore Kiyana Stamps (Moreno Valley, Calif.) also was named to the all-tourney team.
Against Portland, the Aztecs trailed by as many as nine points with 12:27 remaining in the game and were down by seven with just 4:30 left. SDSU, however, got two free throws, a three-pointer and a three-point play by senior Kalena Tutt (Long Beach, Calif.) to tie the contest at 52 apiece with 3:30 remaining.
San Diego State found itself trailing by three at the 1:43 mark, but took the lead on a lay-up from Stamps and a leaning jumper in the lane from junior Chelsea Hopkins (Las Vegas, Nev.) at 58-57 with only eight seconds remaining. Portland did not take a timeout and quickly got the ball up the court, missing on its first shot but Day got the rebound and was fouled. Day then made both free throws to secure the 59-58 victory as the Aztecs' full-court baseball pass was intercepted to end the game.
Despite the loss, SDSU got another standout offensive performance from junior Clements, who surpassed the 20-point mark for the third time in four outings this season. Clements was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc and 8-for-13 from the field to end up with 21 of the team's 58 points. She was the only Aztec in double-figures as Stamps had eight points and Tutt contributed seven to go with her SDSU-best seven rebounds.
The match-up was tied twice within the first three minutes before Portland notched three consecutive lay-ups over a span of just over a minute to take a six-point lead at 10-4. San Diego State responded with three baskets by Clements, including a lay-up, a jumper and a 3-pointer out of the left corner to put the team up by one at 11-10.
After three lead changes and another tie, the Aztec offense went scoreless for nearly five and a half minutes as the Pilots built their biggest lead of the night at seven points at 21-14. A Hopkins basket ended the draught and SDSU ended up catching up by the break at 27-27.
Coming out of the locker room, San Diego State fell behind by three points on three occasions within the first four minutes and that deficit grew to nine at 45-36 on a 3-pointer and a last-second lay-up by Pilot Cassandra Brown. A basket by Sajoyia Griffin at the 11:35 mark started a brief 4-0 run as the Aztecs were within five points three times before being behind by eight heading into the final five minutes of the contest.
SDSU shot just 36.2 percent from the field, while committing 17 turnovers. Portland shot just under 40 percent and made 18-of-23 free throws, while owning just a slight plus-one advantage on the boards.
Day scored 21 points, while Brown added 12, including two of the team's three triples.
San Diego State will take a few days off before taking on the University of Washington on Saturday, Nov. 26, beginning at 1 p.m. PT. The game with the Huskies will be televised live on Channel 4 San Diego and will be shown on tape delay on The Mtn. from Viejas Arena.
Jack In The Box Rainbow Wahine Classic
All-Tournament Team
MVP - Courtney Clements, San Diego State
Kiyana Stamps, San Diego State
Anna Martin, DePaul
Keisha Hampton, DePaul
Natalie Day, Portland
Kamillah Jackson, Hawai'i