Dec. 19, 2014
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team wraps up its two-game homestand on Saturday when it entertains CSUN at 2 p.m. PT inside Viejas Arena. A live video stream of the Aztecs-Matadors clash will be available on GoAztecs.com, with SDSU alumnus Chris Ello handling the play-by-play responsibilities.
The Aztecs (3-6) are coming off a tough 69-48 loss on Thursday to Washington, which received votes in both the AP and coaches polls earlier this week and entered the contest averaging over 87 points per game. SDSU was led by senior Khristina Hunter (Fairfield, Calif.), who scored 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. The Aztecs also received a boost from sophomore Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.), who finished with 10 points and a game-high three steals in her first appearance of the season after suffering a knee injury last February, while freshman McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.) contributed 10 points of her own. On the flip side, CSUN (8-2) won for the eighth time in 10 outings on Thursday with a 77-71 come-from-behind victory over Northern Arizona on the road.
Despite the relative proximity of both schools, SDSU will be facing the Matadors for just the 11th time in school history. The Aztecs hold an 8-2 advantage in the series, including a 5-0 mark in San Diego. However, CSUN registered a 71-52 triumph at The Matadome in the last meeting between the two programs back in December of 2003.
Saturday's showdown will be SDSU's third of four scheduled encounters with Big West opponents this season. The Aztecs dropped a 74-62 decision to Long Beach State in the second game of the year on Nov. 16, before rebounding with a 64-58 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 7. After engaging the Matadors, SDSU will head north to the Inland Empire to battle UC Riverside on Tuesday, Dec. 23, to close out its non-conference slate.
The Aztecs have emerged triumphant in 14 of its last 16 meetings against current members of the Big West. In addition to the aforementioned loss to Long Beach State, SDSU suffered a narrow 68-66 defeat to UC Irvine at home during that span in November 2010.
Entering the weekend, the Aztecs find themselves among the top half of the Mountain West in several categories, including three-point field goal percentage defense (2nd - .284), rebounding defense (2nd - 35.9/gm), rebounding margin (4th - (+2.3)) and field-goal percentage (5th - (.403)).
Individually, Hunter and junior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.) are tied for the 10th spot in the league with seven blocks apiece, while junior Ermmia Amarikwa (Vacaville, Calif.) ranks 12th with 6.4 rebounds per contest.