Dec. 21, 2015
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State women's basketball team closed off its non-conference schedule Monday with a convincing 60-25 victory over San Diego Christian at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena. With the win, the Aztecs raise their record to 5-6 on the season after tying for the third-fewest points allowed in a single game in program history.
SDSU endured five early turnovers, but the NAIA-affiliated Hawks were unable to capitalize, misfiring on 10 of their first 11 field-goal attempts of the evening. Still, SDC found itself trailing only by four points at 14-10 following a steal and a layup by J'Ness Flowers-Murphy with 8:26 left in the second period.
However, the Aztecs seized control of the game at this juncture with a timely 13-2 blitz to close the half and the visitors never threatened again. Senior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.) ignited the run with an old-fashioned three-point play, while sophomore Lexy Thorderson (Castle Rock, Colo.) drained a pair of shots from beyond the arc in the final 3:42 to give the host school a 27-12 cushion heading into the locker room.
SDSU, which limited the Hawks to single digits in each of the four quarters, kept things rolling after the break, fashioning a sizeable 11-2 run to increase its lead to 39-14 with 5:17 remaining in the third period. Smith tallied five points during the run, while Thorderson and senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) hit jumpers on consecutive possessions to help put the game out of reach.
Junior Kymberly Ellison (Columbus, Ga.) led the Aztecs with 11 points off the bench, highlighted by a trio of three-pointers in the fourth quarter, including a successful conversion with 3:19 to in the game, which gave the Scarlet and Black its largest advantage of the night at 59-23. Meanwhile, Smith and Thorderson produced double-digit scoring totals as well with 10 points apiece, while junior Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.) dished out a season-high five assists. Thorderson also grabbed a personal-best seven rebounds to tie junior Kylie Herd (Phoenix, Ariz.) for game-high honors.
As a team, SDSU connected on 22 of 52 field goals (42.3 percent) for the game, including a 7-for-18 effort (38.9 percent) from three-point territory. Conversely, SDC was just 9-for-56 from the floor (16.1 percent) and made just 1 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. In addition, the Aztecs finished with their highest rebounding total of the season, maintaining a hefty 53-32 advantage on the boards, including a 39-22 spread on the defensive end.
Kaylie Fandino led the Hawks with five points, while Flowers-Murphy snared seven rebounds and came up with a game-high three steals.
San Diego State will break for the Christmas holiday before opening Mountain West play at Wyoming on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Game time is set for 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT.