March 2, 2015
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team closes out the home portion of its regular-season schedule on Tuesday when it entertains UNLV in Mountain West showdown at Viejas Arena, beginning at 6 p.m. PT.
A live video stream of the Aztecs-Lady Rebels encounter will be available on GoAztecs.com, with SDSU alumnus Chris Ello handling the play-by-play responsibilities.
Prior to opening tip, the Aztecs will hold a special ceremony honoring their own Erimma Amarikwa (Vacaville, Calif.), Chairese Culberson (Oakland, Calif.) and Khristina Hunter (Fairfield, Calif.) as part of Senior Night festivities.
SDSU (10-17, 7-9 MW) is coming off a 64-58 setback at Boise State last Saturday, while UNLV (13-14, 10-6 MW) suffered a road defeat in its last outing as well, falling to Wyoming by a 99-68 count. The Aztecs played a fairly even game statistically against the Broncos as the two sides combined for eight lead changes and three ties. However, the Scarlet and Black managed just two 3-pointers on the day, while BSU drained seven shots from beyond the arc to help maintain the upper hand.
Despite the loss, SDSU retains its grip on seventh place in the Mountain West standings, one game ahead of San José State, which claimed an 81-72 victory over Nevada last Saturday.
The Aztecs and Lady Rebels will be meeting on Tuesday for the 51st time, which represents SDSU's second-most played rivalry behind New Mexico (55 games). The Aztecs own a slim 26-24 lead against UNLV after dropping a 64-47 decision in the last meeting between the two teams in Las Vegas on Jan. 17. However, SDSU has won eight straight against the Lady Rebels in San Diego, including a 64-63 thriller last season, which also coincided with the Aztecs' Senior Night. SDSU witnessed its last defeat to UNLV in "America's Finest City" on Feb. 15, 2006, when it came out on the wrong side a 64-48 score.
In addition, SDSU remains just one of two current Mountain West teams to possess an all-time winning record against the Lady Rebels, joining Colorado State (24-16). The Aztecs' last overtime game involved UNLV as well, with SDSU claiming a 66-62 road victory on Jan. 14, 2012.
The Aztecs have emerged triumphant in three straight Senior Night games and six of its last seven, including the aforementioned nail-biter in 2014. SDSU suffered its last defeat on Senior Night on March 2, 2011, when Wyoming invaded Viejas Arena and captured a 63-50 victory.
Entering the week, SDSU leads the MW in rebounding defense (34.8/gm) and occupies the second spot in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.285), which is 43rd in the nation. In addition, the Aztecs rank among the top half of the conference in rebounding margin (3rd - (+3.4)). Individually, Erimma Amarikwa finds herself in the seventh position in rebounds (7.0/gm) for all games and is 11th in free-throw percentage (.670). In league play, the 6-1 forward is averaging 7.5 boards per contest, which ranks third, while her scoring average of 12.0 points per game is 14th.
Following Tuesday's clash, San Diego State will close out its regular-season slate on Friday, March 6, when it travels to the Silver State for a return engagement with Nevada. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. PT. The Aztecs defeated the Wolf Pack 57-49 in the last meeting between the two schools on Feb. 4 at Viejas Arena.