Dec. 9, 2015
SAN DIEGO - Fresh off a thrilling come-from-behind victory at CSUN earlier in the week, the San Diego State women's basketball team returns to the City of Angels for a non-conference showdown with Loyola Marymount on Thursday at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif.
The early tip-off of noon PT is part of a Kids Day at the Game promotion in conjunction with the Family of Schools and admission is free for all. SDSU alumnus Chris Ello will handle the play-by-by duties for a live audio stream on GoAztecs.com, while streaming video will also be available courtesy of the West Coast Conference's online platform, The W.tv.
The Aztecs (3-5) escaped with a 67-65 nail-biter at CSUN on Monday, as sophomore Lexy Thorderson (Castle Rock, Colo.) hit the go-ahead bucket on a three-pointer with 9.4 seconds left in the game. Junior Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.) came up with a crucial steal on the Matadors' next possession and sank a free throw with two seconds remaining to essentially ice the game for the Scarlet and Black. SDSU received double-digit scoring totals from three players, including sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.), who tallied a game-high 18 points, while fellow classmate Cheyenne Greenhouse (Riverside, Calif.) chipped in 11 points and five rebounds, followed by Thorderson's 10-point effort.
On the flip side, the Lions (3-6) are returning home after posting a 1-2 mark during a three-game road swing, including an 80-48 defeat at Missouri in their last outing on Monday. Two weeks ago, LMU notched the fourth-highest point total in school history after crushing UC Irvine 95-50 in its home tournament on Nov. 28.
Despite the relative proximity of both schools, the Aztecs will face the Lions for just the ninth time ever on Thursday. SDSU holds a 6-2 lead in the series; however, the two sides have not met since December 2009 when the Aztecs registered a 75-54 triumph on the road. SDSU shot 60 percent from the field (33-55) in that contest to win going away. The Aztecs are 3-1 overall at Gersten Pavilion, recording their only loss in November of 2000 by a 69-59 count.
San Diego State is 76-64 against current members of the West Coast Conference. However, 29 of those defeats came against BYU when both teams were rivals in the Western Athletic and Mountain West conferences. The last time the Aztecs faced a WCC school other than USD occurred in 2012, when the Scarlet and Black suffered a 59-58 heartbreaker to Portland in the finals of the Rainbow Wahine Classic.
Entering the LMU game, Fort ranks fourth in the Mountain West in scoring (15.8 ppg) and fifth in steals (2.5/gm) while occupying the seventh position in free-throw percentage (.651). In addition, senior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.) shares the seventh spot in blocked shots (1.1/gm), while Thorderson is eighth in three-pointers made (1.4/g).
Following Thursday's encounter, San Diego State will break for final exams before returning to action on Saturday, Dec. 19, for a clash with Cal State Fullerton at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT.