Feb. 12, 2014
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SAN DIEGO - Despite a strong second-half rally, the San Diego State women's basketball team came up short Wednesday, falling to Wyoming by a 69-60 count in a Mountain West game at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs trimmed a 20-point deficit to five in the final two minutes, but were unable draw closer, slipping to 8-13 on the year and 5-6 in MW play. Meanwhile, the Cowgirls snapped a five-game losing streak to SDSU, raising their record to 16-6 overall and 7-4 in conference action.
Despite outscoring Wyoming 32-22 in the paint and maintaining a slight 13-11 edge in offensive rebounds, the Aztecs were done in by cold shooting in the first half, connecting on just eight of their 32 field-goal attempts (25 percent), including an 0-for-7 effort from three-point range.
Conversely, the Cowgirls drained 6 of their first 16 shots from behind the arc to help build a 35-21 advantage by intermission. Following the break, the visitors extended their lead to 20 on two occasions, including a 53-33 spread on a Kayla Woodward triple with 9:33 remaining.
SDSU began its steady climb back into contention at this juncture as a three-pointer by Danesha Long (Long Beach, Calif.) capped an 18-6 spurt over the ensuing five minutes, which narrowed the gap to 59-51 with 4:26 left. Freshman Chloe Johnson (Phoenix, Ariz.) nailed her first two collegiate treys during that stretch, while fellow classmate Alyssa Lawrence (New Rochelle, N.Y.) added five points, including an and-one opportunity, to help spark the comeback effort.
Moments later, Cierra Warren (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) sank three consecutive layups interspersed between four free throws by Wyoming's Chelan Landry to bring the Scarlet and Black to within 63-57 by the 2:18 mark. The Aztecs came up with a huge steal on the Cowgirls' next possession as Johnson fed freshman Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.) on a fast-break. Bostick was soon fouled on the drive down the lane, but made just one of two free throws to tighten the score at 63-58 with just 1:42 on the clock.
That would be as close as SDSU would get, however, as Wyoming promptly beat the backcourt press with an uncontested layup by Woodward that all but extinguished the Aztecs' hopes.
Despite checking out on multiple occasions in the second half due to foul trouble, Warren still led SDSU with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Long and junior Khristina Hunter (7 rebounds) scored 10 points apiece.
As a team, the Aztecs fared much better in the second half, connecting on 15 of 31 shots from the floor (48.4 percent), while outscoring the Cowgirls 11-3 off turnovers.
On the flip side, Wyoming was paced by Kaitlyn Mileto's 20-point performance, highlighted by five triples, while Woodward (17 points) drilled three treys on the night. In addition, Fallon Lewis (15 points) reached double figures, while Jordan Sibrel grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
SDSU, which dressed only seven players, led just once in the contest, 6-5, on a Hunter layup with 15:41 left in the first half. However, Woodward and Mileto hit consecutive treys shortly thereafter, sandwiched around a pair of foul shots by the Aztecs' Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.), to ignite a 12-4 blitz that put the Cowgirls in front for good, 17-10.
San Diego State hits the road for its next game on Saturday, Feb. 15, when it travels to the Air Force Academy for a Mountain West battle, beginning at 1 p.m. MT/Noon PT.