Jan. 4, 2012
The San Diego State women's basketball team claimed its fifth consecutive victory Wednesday by cruising past visiting Longwood 79-37 at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs improved to 9-4 on the year, including a 6-1 mark on their home court, while Longwood dropped its eighth in a row to fall to 2-15 overall.
"This is our last week to continue to get better and gain momentum before we head into the most important part of our regular season with that being Mountain West Conference play," SDSU head coach Beth Burns said. "I thought we did some good things tonight and it was great to have Ahjalee Harvey back from injury. Chelsea Hopkins was very good beginning, middle and end. She had great leadership, great aggression and was a real difference-maker.
"It was a game that gave everyone an opportunity to play. Obviously, I wasn't happy about (Longwood's) rebounding, because we have to do better than that, but it gives us plenty to work on in practice."
The Aztecs had three players finish in double-figure scoring including team co-captain Chelsea Hopkins (Las Vegas, Nev.), who registered her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists and four steals in only 24 minutes of action. Freshman Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) knocked in a career-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting in her first game back since missing the last three due to injury. Fellow guard Kiyana Stamps (Moreno Valley, Calif.) matched Harvey's effort with 15 points of her own, while junior Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.) was held to only nine, the first time she has not scored in double-figures this season.
For the third outing in a row, SDSU led from the opening basket, racing out to a quick 8-0 lead after making each of its first four shots. Longwood finally got on the board on a pair of free throws, but didn't convert on its first field goal until the 12:31 mark with the host squad already owning a 16-6 advantage. The Aztecs then went on a 9-0 run to go up by 19 and led by as many as 26 points including with the score 45-19 at the break.
The Lancers cut their deficit to as few as 22 points on a pair of free throws at the 15:10 mark of the second half by Crystal Smith. San Diego State responded with a 15-1 run and finished out the game with a 42-point advantage at 79-37 to easily claim the first-ever meeting between the two sides.
SDSU allowed less than 40 points for the third consecutive game and held its opponent to fewer than 22 points for the sixth straight half. The Aztecs hauled in a season-high 52 rebounds, including 23 on the offensive glass, while shooting 44.6 percent from the field and committing a season-low 12 turnovers.
The Lancers, who gave up 31 points off their 21 turnovers, were led by Brittanni Billups 14 points and Morgan Smith's eight points and 11 rebounds.
The Aztec women's basketball team plays its final non-conference contest of 2011-12 on Saturday when it travels to CSU Bakersfield for a 2 p.m. tip-off.