Jan. 15, 2016
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team caps off its two-game homestand on Saturday when it plays host to defending Mountain West tournament champion Boise State at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena. Opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT.
The Aztecs-Broncos clash will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network on GoAztecs.com, with SDSU alumnus Chris Ello handling the play-by-play duties.
Saturday matchup has also been designated Aztec Women's Basketball Alumni Appreciation Day, featuring on-court recognition of former SDSU players at halftime. In addition, the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free rally towel.
The Aztecs dropped a hard-fought 60-57 decision to conference co-leader Colorado State in their last outing on Wednesday, while the Broncos came away with a 66-58 victory over Nevada at home. Against the Rams, SDSU rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second quarter to take a brief 41-40 lead early in the fourth period. For the second game in a row, however, an Aztec opponent caught fire in the final quarter, as the Rams connected on 9 of their last 13 field-goal attempts (69.2 percent) to escape with the win.
SDSU has captured all five meetings against the Broncos in San Diego and leads the all-time series 7-2. In Boise State's last visit to "America's Finest City" a year ago, SDSU registered a 57-40 conquest, limiting the Broncos to 34 points below their season scoring average at the time, as the visitors made just 4 of 26 shots from the floor in the second half.
On offense this season, Boise State is averaging 70.3 points per game, which ranks third in the Mountain West entering the weekend, while the Aztecs are currently seventh with 64.7 points allowed per contest. In an odd twist, SDSU is averaging nine fewer points per game at home (56.6) than it is on the road (65.7). The Broncos have experienced a similar fate, averaging 69.0 points per contest at home, compared to a 71.7 mean away from Boise.
Individually, the Aztecs are led by sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.), who ranks fifth in the league for all games in scoring (15.1 ppg) and shares the fifth spot in steals (2.1/gm). In addition, the 5-9 guard is sixth among the MW leaders with five 20-point performances to her credit. Meanwhile, senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) finds herself in the ninth position with an average of 13.0 points in conference games. The SDSU duo scored 37 of the team's 57 points vs. Colorado State on a combined 16-for-31 shooting (51.6 percent).
The Aztecs have been taking better care of the ball recently, maintaining the league's second-best turnover margin (+2.1). Through 15 games, SDSU has committed the third fewest miscues in the MW with 216 overall (14.4/gm), trailing only Colorado State (185 - (12.3/gm)) and Wyoming (199 - (13.3/gm)). At this juncture last year, the Aztecs ranked last in the conference with 315 turnovers (21.0/gm) and a minus-5.8 turnover margin.
Following its clash with the Broncos, San Diego State will hit the road for a pair of games next week, battling Fresno State on Wednesday, Jan. 20, followed by a rematch with Utah State on Saturday, Jan. 23.