Dec. 8, 2011
The San Diego State women's basketball team was limited to just 17 second-half points, including only two in the first 12 minutes after the break, as the Aztecs dropped a 56-45 decision Thursday to visiting University of San Diego at Viejas Arena. With the loss, SDSU saw their overall record move to .500 on the year at 4-4, while the Toreros broke a two-game losing streak in the series to improve to 6-2 in 2011-12.
"I thought both teams were prepared, but their experience showed and even though we played very hard, it's almost remarkable to have 23 offensive rebounds and only 45 points," Aztec head coach Beth Burns said. "They did a terrific job of mixing their defenses a lot and credit to them, they were more aggressive and played under control."
Two players accounted for 23 of San Diego State's season-low 45 points on the night. Junior Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.) scored in double-figures for the eighth time in as many outings this year, notching 13, but was limited to only a pair after the break. Classmate Chelsea Hopkins (Las Vegas, Nev.) played only 15 minutes due to foul trouble and still ended up with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting. Freshman Chairese Culberson (Oakland, Calif.) matched her season-best with nine boards to go with three blocks, while senior Kalena Tutt (Long Beach, Calif.) recorded seven rebounds and three blocks of her own.
Both sides notched scoring runs coming out of the gate, as the Toreros went up by five points at 7-2 only to have the Aztecs answer with a 15-2 swing to give the home team its largest lead of the night at 17-9 with 8:20 remaining in the first half. USD converted on a pair of free throws and then hit three buckets in a row to tie the game at 17 points apiece.
The score was tied at 19 and 21 and also at the break, as San Diego State erased a five-point deficit with under a minute and a half remaining to go into the locker room all square at 28 points apiece.
USD scored the first point of the second half on a free throw, but the Aztecs bounced back ahead on a jumper from Clements at the 17:52 mark at 30-29. SDSU then went scoreless over nearly a 10-minute span, missing its next 13 shots. Luckily for the home team, the Toreros also had their own streak of cold shooting, as San Diego State finally broke the drought on a triple from sophomore Melissa Sweat (Bakersfield, Calif.) to put them down by only five with 8:02 left to play.
The Aztecs cut it to as little as a two-point margin at 39-37 and trailed by just three with 4:55 remaining, but never got any closer as San Diego went to the free-throw line 14 more times, hitting 10 of them to secure the 56-45 victory.
San Diego State shot just 29.7 percent from the field (19-for-64), including 22.6 percent after the break, and attempted only eight free throws to USD's 29. The Aztecs had a season-high 23 offensive rebounds to give them 44 overall, but also committed 19 turnovers.
USD was led by Dominique Conners' 22 points and four steals, while Izzy Chilcott contributed 10 rebounds and Amy Kame had 10 points off the bench.
San Diego State will take a brief break for final exams as its next contest won't be until next Friday when the Aztecs travel to UC Irvine for a 7 p.m. PT game at the Bren Events Center.