Jan. 16, 2016
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SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State women's basketball team was unable to avoid its fourth straight defeat on Saturday after dropping a 75-45 decision to Boise State in a Mountain West game at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena.
With the loss, the Aztecs fall to 6-10 overall and 1-4 in conference play, while the Broncos raise their record to 10-6 on the year and 3-2 in the MW.
Trailing 39-34 at halftime, SDSU scored the first hoop of the third quarter on a short jumper by sophomore Cheyenne Greenhouse (Riverside, Calif.) to narrow the gap to three. However, consecutive three-pointers by Boise State's Brooke Pahukoa and Marta Hermida quickly derailed the host school's momentum.
The Aztecs were unable to recover from the sting of those two baskets, connecting on just 2 of 23 field-goal attempts for the remainder of the contest, as the Broncos won going away.
SDSU was led by senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.), who tallied 11 points, highlighted by a pair of triples, while sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.) recorded 10 points of her own, all in the first half.
Conversely, Boise State was paced by Brooke Pahukoa's game-high 18 points, including a 4-for-7 effort from three-point range, while Yaiza Rodriguez (14 pts, 10 assists) and Shalen Shaw (11 pts, 13 rebounds) each contributed a double-double. In addition, Hermida (13 pts) and Miquelle Askew (10 pts) finished with double figures of their own.
As a team, the Broncos shot 52 percent from the perimeter (26-50) and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line (14-16) to help key their victory. Meanwhile, the Aztecs were just 31 percent from the floor (17-55) on the afternoon, including a 6-for-20 clip from beyond the arc. The Scarlet and Black was also snake-bit by 19 turnovers, including nine in the fourth quarter alone.
For the fifth game in a row SDSU faced an early double-digit deficit, as Boise State raced to a 21-7 advantage with 2:20 left in the first quarter, following a pair of free throws by Marijke Vanderschaaf. The Aztecs quickly responded a 14-2 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to climb back into contention. Fort scored four points during the run, while Harvey and sophomore Geena Gomez (Huntington Beach, Calif.) each nailed a triple to help SDSU cut the margin to 23-21 by the 8:57 mark of the second quarter.
However, the Broncos reeled off eight straight points to restore their 10-point advantage at 31-21 with 6:01 to go before intermission. San Diego State got as close as four following a three-pointer by junior transfer Kymberly Ellison (Columbus, Ga.), which tightened the score at 37-33 with 46 seconds left in the period. Askew got loose for a layup on Boise State's next possession, while Aztec junior Aleiah Brandon (Corona, Calif.) sank 1 of 2 free throws to give the contest its 39-34 score at the break.
SDSU will return to the hardwood on Wednesday, Jan. 20, when it travels to Fresno State for conference tilt, starting at 7 p.m. PT. The Bulldogs (9-7, 5-0 MW) were 59-54 winners at San Jose State on Saturday.