Jan. 22, 2014
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SAN DIEGO - Behind senior Cierra Warren's (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) third double-double of the season, the San Diego State women's basketball team overpowered visiting San José State, 88-65, in a Mountain West game Wednesday at Viejas Arena.
Warren posted career-highs of 31 points and 14 rebounds along with a personal-best 11-for-12 effort at the free-throw line to help the Aztecs raise their record to 6-10 on the season and 3-3 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Spartans shot just 27 percent for the night on 18 of 66 field-goal attempts, including a 19 percent clip in the first half (6-32), to fall to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in MW action.
SDSU used its tremendous size advantage to key its big win, maintaining a hefty 63-44 rebounding margin while outscoring SJSU 50-12 in the paint. Similarly, the Aztecs held a substantial 33-12 edge in second-chance points and recorded a season-low eight turnovers for the game.
In addition to Warren's heroics, SDSU received a 16-point performance from freshman Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.), while sophomore Deajanae Scurry (Los Angeles, Calif.) notched a career-high 13 points and a season-best eight rebounds. Also aiding the Aztec cause were sophomore Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.), who registered 10 points and five rebounds off the bench, and junior Khristina Hunter (Fairfield, Calif.), who tied for game-high honors with 13 rebounds to go with two blocks.
SDSU, which never trailed in the contest, grabbed a quick 10-0 lead over the first six minutes of the game as SJSU misfired on its first nine shots from the floor, including six from beyond the three-point arc. The Aztecs gradually extended their advantage to 17 points on two occasions, including a 35-18 spread following a jumper by Long with 2:45 left in the period., SDSU was limited to just two free throws for the rest of the half, while the Spartans' Classye James drained a three-pointer and sank two of four foul shots down the stretch to help pull SJSU to within 37-25 at intermission.
However, the Spartans were unable to draw any closer as the Aztecs opened the second half by unleashing an 11-0 blitz, capped by a Long basket and a pair of Warren free throws, to build a comfortable 48-25 cushion by the 17:18 mark. The lead eventually ballooned to 29 points at 76-47, following a Scurry three-pointer with 7:24 remaining, before SJSU began to chip away at the deficit.
Rebecca Woodberry scored 10 straight points for the Spartans over a three-minute stretch to narrow the gap to 82-65 with 1:48 left. However, the spurt proved to be too little too late as Bostick connected on a pair of triples in the closing moments to give the contest its final tally of 88-65.
SDSU totaled 51 points in the second half, its highest scoring frame of the season, connecting on 21-45 field goals (47 percent) to offset a slow start of its own after logging a 13-for-43 clip from the floor in the first period (30 percent).
Conversely, the normally up-tempo Spartans sank 8-of-19 three-pointers in the second half (42 percent) after opening with an ice-cold 3-for-23 pace (13 percent) in the first half.
Woodberry, who went 5-for-13 from long range, led SJSU with 21 points, whle Ta'Rea Cunnigan finished with 20 points in the loss.
SDSU returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 25, when it plays host to Utah State at Viejas Arena, starting at 2 p.m. PT.