Jan. 13, 2016
Final Stats | =""> Final PDF Stats | Photo Gallery
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State women's basketball team put up a valiant fight in the second half against conference co-leader Colorado State on Wednesday but was unable to complete the upset, falling short by a 60-57 count in a Mountain West clash at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena.
With the loss, the Aztecs suffered their third straight defeat, slipping to 6-9 on the year and 1-3 in league play, while the Rams won their 11th in row, improving to 14-1 overall and 4-0 in the MW.
Individually, SDSU was led by sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.), who scored a game-high 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go with five assists, while senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) added 17 points, including 14 in the second half. In addition, the Aztecs received 10 points from sophomore Lexy Thorderson (Castle Rock, Colo.), while fellow classmate Cheyenne Greenhouse (Riverside, Calif.) contributed six points and four rebounds.
After shooting just 26 percent in the first two periods (7-27), SDSU caught fire in the second half, connecting on 55 percent (17-31) of its attempts from the field to help erase a 31-18 deficit at intermission. However, CSU maintained a 36-24 advantage in the paint and out-rebounded the Aztecs by a 33-22 margin, including a sizable 25-13 spread on the offensive glass.
The Rams managed to withstand SDSU's rally with some clutch shooting, particularly in the fourth quarter when they drained 9 of 13 attempts from the floor (69 percent) to escape with the win. CSU committed 19 turnovers on the evening, but the Scarlet and Black was unable to completely capitalize, scoring just 16 points off those miscues.
The Aztecs took their only lead of the game, 41-40, at the 8:52 mark of the fourth quarter following a Thorderson jumper from the right baseline to punctuate a 23-9 blitz. However, CSU quickly reclaimed the upper hand on back-to-back layups by Jamie Patrick and Keyona Wharry.
SDSU would forge a pair of ties over the next three minutes and change, including a 50-50 deadlock following a Fort basket with 4:47 remaining. Wharry quickly stole the Aztecs' momentum after a timeout by nailing a tough jumper in the lane to spark an 8-3 spurt that put the Rams in front for good. Moments later, Patrick capped the run with a layup to provide CSU a seemingly safe 58-53 lead with 50.7 seconds to go.
However, the Aztecs would not surrender without a fight as Fort tallied four straight points on a jumper and two free throws, sandwiched around a pair of misfires at the charity stripe by Wharry. After a quick foul, the Rams' Ellen Nystrom sank two free throws at the other end with 13.6 seconds left to give the visitors a 60-57 edge. SDSU had one last chance to send the game into overtime, but could not get off a three-point shot with the clock winding down.
Alana Arias led the Rams with 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Patrick (12 pts) and Wharry (10 pts) reached double figures as well. As a team, CSU made 55 percent (27-49) of its shots for the game, compared to the Aztecs' 41-percent clip (24-58),
San Diego State will be back in action on Saturday when it welcomes Boise State to Steve Fisher Court to highlight Alumni Appreciation Weekend. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT.