Jan. 1, 2016
SAN DIEGO - Winners of three straight, the San Diego State women's basketball team looks to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday when it entertains Utah State in its Mountain West home opener at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena. Game time is set for 2 p.m. PT. SDSU alumnus Chris Ello will handle the play-by-play responsibilities for a live video stream via the MW Network on GoAztecs.com.
Saturday's matchup will also feature a free T-shirt giveaway to the first 250 fans in attendance to go along with Bingo Day festivities. Spectators can pick up a bingo card upon entry and play throughout the game for a chance to win an autographed team basketball.
The Aztecs are coming off an inspiring 84-77 victory at Wyoming on Wednesday, sinking 9 of their final 10 free-throw attempts after the Cowgirls trimmed a 12-point deficit down to three with 52 seconds left on the clock. Sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.) led the SDSU charge with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) finished with a career-high 19 points of her own. Conversely, the Aggies have lost three in a row, including an 86-74 defeat at the hands of San José State in their conference opener.
SDSU and Utah State will play each other twice during the regular season after meeting just once in 2015. The Aztecs came away with a 70-59 triumph in Logan last year, draining 16 of 21 foul shots in the second half to keep the Aggies at bay. In addition, SDSU limited USU's leading scorer Funda Nakkasoglu, the eventual MW Freshman of the Year, to just eight points. With the win, the Aztecs raised their record to 5-1 in the all-time series. SDSU is 3-0 against the Aggies in San Diego, including a a 132-64 conquest on Dec. 16, 1983, when the Scarlet and Black established a program record for most points in a single game.
The Aztecs are 6-10 all-time in MW home openers, dropping four out of their last five including a 56-44 setback to Fresno State a year ago. SDSU's lone victory during that stretch was a 61-46 conquest of former league member TCU on Jan. 11, 2012.
Individually, the Aztecs are led by Fort, who ranks fifth in the Mountain West in scoring (15.6 ppg) and eighth in steals (2.1/gm) while occupying the ninth position in free-throw percentage (.661). In addition, fellow sophomore Lexy Thorderson (Castle Rock, Colo.) shares the 10th spot in three-pointers made (1.4/gm), while junior Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.) is 12th in steals (1.8/gm).
Collectively, SDSU ranks among in the top half of the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (5th - (.312)) and turnover margin (T-5th - (+1.1/gm)). The Aztecs have outscored their last three opponents by an 84-66 margin in the paint.
Following Saturday's clash, San Diego State will hit the road for a mid-week encounter at San José State on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Game time in Silicon Valley is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.