Dec. 20, 2014
SAN DIEGO - Despite having three players finish in double figures, the San Diego State women's basketball team was unable to avoid its third straight defeat on Saturday with a 65-54 loss to CSUN at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs shot just 29 percent from the field (17-58), including a 1-for-10 clip from three-point range to fall to 3-7 on the season. Meanwhile, the Matadors capitalized on 22 SDSU turnovers, scoring 19 points off those miscues to help raise their record to 9-2 overall.
Individually, the Aztecs were led by junior Erimma Amarikwa (Vacaville, Calif.), who finished with 14 points, while sophomore Chloe Johnson (Phoenix, Ariz.) tied her career best with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. In addition, the SDSU cause was aided by sophomore Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.), who scored 10 points for the second straight game, while senior Khristina Hunter (Fairfield, Calif.) snared a game-high 10 rebounds and posted two blocks.
CSUN didn't fare much better from the floor, connecting on just 21 of its 61 field-goal attempts (34 percent). However, the Matadors matched the Aztecs efficiency from the free-throw line as both teams went 19-for-23 (83 percent) from the charity stripe. Despite getting outrebounded 45-40, the visitors also outscored SDSU 28-24 in the paint and maintained a 13-8 advantage on second-chance points en route to the win.
Janae Sharpe paced the Matadors with a game-high 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Ashlee Guay finished with 17 points and six boards of her own.
The contest witnessed four lead changes and three ties early in the first half, with the Aztecs building a pair of five-point advantages, including a 20-15 spread at the 9:17 mark following two foul shots by junior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.). SDSU was unable to sustain the momentum, however, misfiring on six straight field goal attempts over the ensuing 5:34, while committing four turnovers. CSUN took advantage of the Aztecs' woes, uncorking an 11-0 run to take the lead for good, 26-20, with 3:43 left in the period.
SDSU managed to trim the margin to three by halftime, 30-27, before suffering another ill-timed drought after the break. The Aztecs went just 2-for-7 from the perimeter in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second half, allowing the Matadors to build a 42-32 cushion by the 13:26 mark.
SDSU would only get as close as seven points the rest of the way, as a Johnson layup and a Bostick free thrown cut the margin to 46-39 with 8:05 left on the clock. However, CSUN countered with an 11-5 spurt over the next four minutes to forge its largest lead of the game at 57-44. Sharpe sank four foul shots during that stretch, while Camille Mahlknecht and Caroline Gilling added layups to help keep the host school at bay.
San Diego State concludes its non-conference schedule on Tuesday, Dec. 23, when it travels north to the Inland Empire to battle UC Riverside, beginning at 2 p.m. PT. The Aztecs will then break for the Christmas holiday before opening Mountain West play with a road tilt at Air Force on Wednesday, Dec. 31.