Dec. 2, 2015
SAN DIEGO - Fresh off a sweep in the SDSU Thanksgiving Classic last weekend, the San Diego State women's basketball team looks to keep the momentum rolling on Thursday when it renews acquaintances with the University of San Diego in the annual city showdown at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena. Opening tip is set for 6:30 p.m. PT. A live video stream courtesy of the Mountain West Network will be available on GoAztecs.com, with SDSU alumnus Chris Ello handling the play-by-play responsibilities.
The Aztecs are coming off a thrilling 63-57 overtime victory over Wisconsin last Sunday, rallying from an 11-point deficit in the second half despite yielding 11 three-pointers and finishing with a 45-30 deficiency in rebounds. However, SDSU forced 20 turnovers and kept the Badgers off the free-throw line for the entire afternoon to help complete the comeback.
Individually, the Aztecs have been sparked by sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.), who collected Mountain West Player of the Week honors after averaging 17.3 points and shooting 66.7 percent from the field (24-36) the past three games. Against North Dakota State in the opener of the SDSU Thanksgiving Classic, Fort led all scorers with 20 points on a career-high 10-for-12 performance from the floor and added a personal-best five steals to propel her team to a 64-54 triumph. The Scarlet and Black has also received a boost from fellow classmate Lexy Thorderson (Castle Rock, Colo.), who matched her career-high with 12 points on a 4-for-7 effort from beyond the three-point arc against Wisconsin.
The Aztecs-Toreros clash will mark the 39th edition of the intra-city showdown, which dates back to February 1978. The two sides have battled one another on a yearly basis since 2002 after the series went on hiatus from 1997-2001. SDSU owns a 28-10 advantage over its crosstown adversary, but has dropped the last two encounters, including a 66-44 setback at Jenny Craig Pavilion a year ago.
Defense has typified the series recently, with the two schools reaching the 70-point plateau just four times in the past 16 meetings. On each occasion, the team to score over 70 points came away with the win. Similarly, the losing side has failed to score more than 60 points in 11 of the last 14 engagements. In addition, the annual city skirmish has featured a winning margin of five points or less in just five of the last 13 games. The other eight encounters have been decided by an average of nearly 18 points, with each team posting a victory of more than 25 points.
During its four-game losing streak to open the season, SDSU averaged nearly five more turnovers per night and allowed opponents to shoot 50 percent from the floor. However, the Aztecs reversed that trend in their two wins last weekend, finishing with a plus-8 turnover margin and a 37.3 field-goal percentage on defense.
Following Thursday's clash, San Diego State will head north to the Los Angeles area next week for a pair of games at CSUN (Dec. 7) and Loyola Marymount (Dec. 10).