Feb. 7, 2015
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SAN DIEGO - Behind a stellar defensive performance, the San Diego State women's basketball team won its third straight on Saturday with a convincing 57-40 decision over Boise State in a Mountain West clash at Viejas Arena. The Scarlet and Black limited the high-octane Broncos to 34 points below their average for the year, along with a season-low .264 shooting percentage, to help key its win.
With the victory, SDSU raises its record to 9-13 overall and moves into fifth place in conference play with a 6-5 mark, a half-game behind Boise State (14-7, 6-4 MW), which entered the game averaging 74.7 points per contest on the year and 83.1 points in its last six outings.
Junior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) led the Aztec charge on offense, matching her career-best with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while fellow classmate Erimma Amarikwa (Vacaville, Calif.) registered her eighth collegiate double-double with 10 points to go with a career-high tying 13 rebounds and three steals. In addition, the SDSU cause was advanced by sophomore Chloe Johnson (Phoenix, Ariz.), who grabbed a personal-best six rebounds and dished out three assists, tying for team-high honors with Harvey, senior Khristina Hunter (Fairfield, Calif.) and sophomore Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.).
Collectively, SDSU maintained a 43-31 rebounding advantage, including a 31-23 spread on the defensive glass, while outscoring the Broncos 26-12 in the paint. The Aztecs also benefited from a cold-shooting Boise State squad that came in with a league-leading .380 three-point field-goal percentage, but connected on just 5 of 23 tries from beyond the arc for the game.
Still, the contest was a see-saw battle throughout the first half as the two sides combined for four ties and seven lead changes. Trailing 26-22, the Aztecs received a huge three-ball from Harvey with 28 seconds remaining before intermission, sparking a 13-0 run that continued through the first four minutes of the second period.
After the Broncos cut the margin to 35-28 on jumper by Shalen Shaw at the 15:45 mark of the second half, SDSU fashioned a 10-4 spurt to seize control of the game. Senior Chairese Culberson (Oakland, Calif.) and freshman McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.) tallied two baskets apiece during the run that put the host school in front 45-32 with 8:04 left.
Boise State answered with five quick points, sandwiched around an SDSU jumper by junior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.), as Tonishia Childress' triple trimmed the deficit to 47-37 with 6:16 remaining. However, consecutive layups by Amarikwa, coupled with a pair of errant Boise State three-point attempts, prevented the visitors from inching closer. In the interim, Bostick hit a short jumper, while Harvey fittingly closed out the scoring with another layup just over a minute later.
The Broncos, who converted just 4 of 26 shots (15.4 percent) from the floor in the second half, were held scoreless over the last three-and-a-half minutes of the game. Individually, Brooke Pahukoa led Boise State with nine points, while Yaiza Rodriguez finished with eight points and a game-high four assists in the loss.
SDSU will now travel to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains for a pair of games next week at Wyoming (Feb. 11) and Colorado State (Feb. 14).