Dec. 30, 2011
The San Diego State women's basketball team used a plus-24 margin on the glass to propel it to the championship of the San Diego Surf `N Slam with a 51-37 victory over visiting Penn on Friday afternoon at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs claimed their third Surf `N Slam title in the last four seasons by winning their fourth game in a row to improve to 8-4 on the season. The Quakers, meanwhile, saw their three-game win streak snapped to fall to 7-3 following the first-ever meeting between the two sides.
"I'm excited about the growth our team has made, especially on the defensive end," SDSU head coach Beth Burns said. "What makes us feel the best about today's effort is how well we defended their motion offense and how hard we made them work for their shots. This might be the best rebounding team that we've had in my second tenure here and if we can continue to guard and rebound, our offense game and shooting will come around. This was a great win for us and a great way to end 2011. We're really excited about moving into 2012."
The Aztecs accounted for three of the six players on the all-tournament squad, including the MVP in junior point guard Chelsea Hopkins (Las Vegas, Nev.). Hopkins had a career high in rebounding for the second outing a row with 12 to go with seven assists and seven points in 34 minutes. Hopkins totaled 22 rebounds and 16 assists over the Surf `N Slam's two contests.
Hopkins was joined by junior Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.), who had a game-high 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting against the Quakers, and redshirt sophomore Kiyana Stamps (Moreno Valley, Calif.), who contributed eight points, three assists and two steals. Aztec junior center Malia Nahinu (Hayward, Calif.) was the second SDSU player in double-figure points with 12 as well as three blocked shots.
For the second outing in a row, San Diego State never trailed building a 6-0 advantage out of the gate with baskets by three different players. Penn got on the board at the 16:25 mark on a jumper from Jourdan Banks and moved to within three points on a lay-up from Jess Knap at 7-4.
Clements then scored the game's next five points on a triple and a lay-up in the paint for an eight-point advantage. After the Quakers trimmed the deficit to six on two occasions, neither side scored for the next five minutes until back-to-back baskets by SDSU freshman Erimma Amarikwa (Vacaville, Calif.) finally broke the stalemate for an 18-8 advantage.
The Aztecs lead was also 10 points at the break at 25-15, and moved out to 12 points twice early in the second half. Penn kept it to just a two possession game until a Nahinu jumper sparked a 12-2 run for a 16-point lead at 43-27. The Quakers would get as close as nine points with 3:43 remaining before SDSU eventually secured the 14-point win at 51-37.
San Diego State hauled in a season-high 49 rebounds to overcome a 31.5 field-goal percentage and 15 turnovers. Penn, meanwhile, shot only 25 percent for the game, including 6.3 percent from beyond the arc, while grabbing just five offensive rebounds.
Alyssa Baron, who was named to the all-tournament squad along with teammate Knapp, scored 15 points, while Kara Bonenberger added eight and five rebounds for the Quakers.
San Diego State plays its final two non-conference games next week starting on Wednesday when Longwood comes to Viejas Arena for a 7 p.m. PT tip-off. The contest is being televised live on Channel 4 San Diego and The Mtn.
San Diego Surf `N Slam
Dec. 28-30, 2011
San Diego, Calif. (Viejas Arena)
Dec. 28
San Diego State def. UNCG, 57-29
Dec. 29
Penn def. UNCG, 47-36
Dec. 30
San Diego State def. Penn 51-37
San Diego Surf `N Slam All-Tournament Team
UNCG - Janae' Stevenson
Penn - Jess Knapp
Penn - Alyssa Baron
SDSU - Courtney Clements
SDSU - Kiyana Stamps
MVP - Chelsea Hopkins, SDSU