Jan. 27, 2016
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SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.) tied her career high with 25 points, but it wasn't enough as the Aztec women's basketball team dropped its seventh straight on Wednesday in a 70-64 defeat to Nevada at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena.
With the loss, SDSU slips to 6-13 on the year and 1-7 in the Mountain West, while the Wolf Pack moves to 4-15 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
In addition to Fort's heroics, which included a 9-for-10 effort at the free-throw line, the Aztecs received 13 points from junior Kymberly Ellison (Columbus, Ga.), while sophomore Cheyenne Greenhouse (Riverside, Calif.) collected a team-high seven rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
However, SDSU was plagued by cold-shooting in the fourth quarter once again, connecting on 5 of 18 attempts (27.8 percent) from the floor in the period, compared to Nevada's 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) finishing kick.
In all, the Aztecs shot just 33.8 percent for the game (23-68), including a 2-for-13 clip (15.4 percent) from three-point range, while the Wolf Pack nailed 43.1 percent of its field-goal tries (25-58), highlighted by a 7-for-15 performance (46.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
Despite maintaining a 42-39 rebounding advantage, including an 18-12 spread on the offensive end, SDSU was also outscored 28-26 in the paint and 10-4 on fast-break points.
The contest witnessed six ties and nine lead changes, with the Aztecs forging a 53-48 lead at the end of the third quarter after junior Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.) buried a three-pointer at the horn to punctuate a 19-4 blitz over the final four minutes of the period. Fort tallied eight points during the run, while senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) added a pair of free-throws after Nevada's Nyasha LeSure was whistled for a technical foul.
However, the Wolf Pack gradually seized control over the first five-and-a-half minutes of the fourth period, engineering a 15-5 surge to reclaim a 63-58 advantage by the 4:37 mark of the period. Nevada notched 10 of its points in the paint during the run, including four apiece by Riana Everidge and Stephanie Schmid, while Halie Bergman nailed a demoralizing three-pointer that put the visitors in front to stay.
SDSU trimmed the margin to three points on three occasions, including a 67-64 spread after a Greenhouse layup with 1:39 to go. Although Nevada missed two shots on its next possession, the Wolf Pack still used up over a minute on the clock as AJ Cephas frustrated the Aztecs with a timely offensive rebound.
SDSU was limited to one look on its next trip up the floor as a Fort jumper went awry. Moments later, Schmid hit the first of two free throws, extending the margin to 68-64. However, Everidge came up with another key offensive rebound off a miss on the second attempt, while Kelsey Kaelin sank two additional foul shots shortly thereafter with 27 seconds left to provide for the final outcome.
Nevada was led by Schmid's 19 points, while Everidge (16 pts.) and LeSure (12 pts.) reached double figures as well.
The Aztecs battled back from a 14-6 deficit in the first quarter to take a 23-20 lead following an Ellison triple and a layup by senior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.) with 6:53 left in the second period. However, SDSU was unable to prevent a 9-3 spurt that the Wolf Pack employed to grab a 29-26 lead by intermission.
San Diego State will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 30, when it plays host to UNLV at 2 p.m. PT as part its annual celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.