Jan. 24, 2015
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SAN DIEGO - Despite holding the league's second-place squad scoreless over the final eight minutes of the game on Saturday, the San Diego State women's basketball team was unable to keep up its end of the bargain, falling to Colorado State by a 49-36 count in a Mountain West clash at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs produced their lowest point-total of the year, shooting just 30 percent for the game (14-47), including a 1-for-12 clip from three-point range, to slip to 6-12 overall and 3-4 in conference play. SDSU was also plagued by cold free-throw shooting, draining just 7 of 15 attempts (.467), while committing 19 turnovers.
Conversely, the Rams (14-4, 6-1 MW), who entered the contest averaging 68 points, mustered enough offense to win their sixth in a row and 10th in their 11 last outings. CSU connected on a pedestrian 39 percent of its field-goal attempts (20-51), but buried eight 3-pointers to help keep the Aztecs at bay.
Freshman McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.) was the lone SDSU player to post double figures, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while junior Erimma Amarikwa (Vacaville, Calif.) registered eight points and eight rebounds. In addition, senior Chairese Culberson (Oakland, Calif.) came up with five rebounds to go with a game-high three steals.
On the flip side, the Rams were led by Elin Gustavsson's 13-point effort, while Gritt Ryder notched 12 points off her own, all from beyond the arc. Not to be outdone, Ellen Nystrom logged her second double-double of the year with game-highs of 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
The two teams combined for just 23 points in the first 14:23 of the game, with CSU maintaining a 17-6 advantage following a jumper by Jamie Patrick. The Aztecs picked themselves off the mat at this juncture, reeling off 11 straight points over the next four minutes to tie the game at 17-17. Fort scored six points during the run, while Culberson drained a trey to pull the host school back in contention.
However, the Rams quickly stole SDSU's thunder with a 5-1 spurt over the final 1:44 of the first half, highlighted by Alana Arias' old fashioned three-point play, to take the lead for good by intermission, 22-18.
Following the break, CSU added to its run with a 13-1 blitz in the first three minutes of the second period to take control of the game. Gustavsson fueled the outburst with seven straight points, while Ryder and AJ Newton sank back-to-back 3-pointers. In the interim, the Aztecs misfired on their first eight shots of the period and made one of three free throws. Sophomore Chloe Johnson (Phoenix, Ariz.) ended the drought with a jumper at the 15:33 mark, but SDSU still found itself looking up at a 35-21 deficit.
The Aztecs were unable to trim the margin any further as another Ryder triple extended the Rams' lead to 49-31 with 8:14 left in the game. Incredibly, SDSU managed to keep CSU off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest, but could not reap the rewards of a valiant defensive effort, squeezing out just five points the rest of the way. The Aztecs were undone down the stretch by a 2-for-9 effort from the field to go with four turnovers.
San Diego State will now hit the road for two games next week, starting Wednesday when it heads to the Central Valley to battle MW leader Fresno State at Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs (15-3, 7-0 MW) were 62-44 winners at Nevada on Saturday.