Feb. 18, 2015
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SAN DIEGO - For the second time this season, the San Diego State women's basketball team squandered a halftime lead against New Mexico, ultimately dropping a 63-47 decision to the Lobos in a Mountain West game Wednesday at Viejas Arena.
With the loss, the Aztecs suffered their third straight defeat, falling to 9-16 on the season and 6-8 in conference play, while UNM captured its eighth in a row and 11th in its last 12 outings, improving to 15-10 overall and 11-3 in MW action to maintain a share of first place with Colorado State in the league standings.
Trailing 27-23 at intermission, the Lobos caught fire in the second half, outscoring the Aztecs 40-20 on a blistering 16-for-23 shooting performance (70 percent) en route to sweeping the regular-season series. In addition, UNM connected on 10 of 15 free throws, compared to SDSU, which struggled mightily at the line with a 3-for-14 effort. The Aztecs were also outscored 42-28 in the paint and committed 18 turnovers, which the Lobos converted into 21 points.
Individually, SDSU was led by freshman sensation McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.), who finished with 12 points on 6-of-12 field goals, while junior Erimma Amarikwa registered her 15th double-digit scoring total of the year with 11 points while tying for game-high honors with seven rebounds.
On the flip side, UNM was paced by Khadijah Shumpert's 17 points, while Antiesha Brown shook off a cold start to score 10 points of her own, all in the second half.
The opening period was a see-saw affair, with the two sides combining for six lead changes and four ties during the first 20 minutes. The Aztecs built their biggest advantage of the evening at 23-17 on a floater by senior Chairese Culberson (Oakland, Calif.) with 5:17 remaining. The SDSU forward was fouled on the play, but misfired on the ensuing free throw, which served as a harbinger of things to come.
Still, the Aztecs maintained the upper hand as Fort hit a clutch layup with eight seconds left on the clock to give the host school a four-point bulge at halftime, 27-23.
SDSU shot 13-for-27 in the first half (48 percent), but was unable to duplicate those numbers after the break, connecting on just 9 of 22 attempts from the floor, as the Lobos methodically took charge.
UNM vaulted in front for good 34-31 on a three-pointer by Cherise Beynon at the 15:23 mark of the second half, as the visitors fashioned a 23-9 run through the first 10 minutes of the period. After a layup by Brown gave the Lobos a 46-36 cushion, the Aztecs answered with an old-fashioned three-play by Amarikwa on their ensuing possession. However, UNM quickly responded with seven straight points, capped by a pair of Brown foul shots, to essentially put the game out of reach 53-39 with 7:29 left.
San Diego State returns to the court on Saturday when it plays host to San José State at Viejas Arena in the team's annual "Play4Kay" game to highlight breast cancer awareness. The Spartans (11-13, 5-8 MW) came up short in an 85-80 loss at Utah State on Wednesday.