Feb. 2, 2016
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team will eagerly usher in the new month on Wednesday when it travels to the Front Range of the Rockies to battle Mountain West co-leader Colorado State at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. Game time is set for 7 p.m. MT/ 6 p.m. PT.
SDSU alumnus Chris Ello will handle the play-by-play responsibilities courtside for a live audio stream on GoAztecs.com. In addition, streaming video of the Aztecs-Rams clash will be available courtesy of the Mountain West Network.
SDSU (6-14, 1-8 MW) will be looking to shake the January blues after suffering a 55-41 defeat at the hands of UNLV last Saturday, which extended its season-long losing streak to eight games. The Aztecs staged a 15-6 run in the third quarter to tie the game at 33-33, before the Lady Rebels outscored the Scarlet and Black 22-8 over the final 10 minutes to secure the win. Meanwhile, CSU (15-1, 8-0 MW) kept its unblemished conference record intact with a 63-42 home victory over Wyoming in its last outing on Jan. 30.
Wednesday's matchup will be the 51st encounter with the Rams, marking SDSU's fourth-most frequently played opponent behind New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming. Despite maintaining a 27-23 advantage in the all-time series, the Aztecs have dropped five straight to CSU, averaging just 48.8 points per game during that stretch. Last month, SDSU came up on the wrong side of a 60-57 decision at Steve Fisher Court, as a late rally fell short.
Keeping with the trend, defense has exemplified the Aztecs-Rams rivalry of late, with the winning team scoring over 70 points just seven times in the past 34 games dating back to 2000. The last time SDSU registered 70 points against CSU occurred on March 3, 2010, when the Scarlet and Black emerged with a 73-54 triumph on the road. The task at hand appears challenging once again, as the Rams lead the conference in scoring defense (51.7 ppg), while the Aztecs are averaging 58.0 points per contest.
During its eight-game skid, SDSU has been tantalizingly close on several occasions, losing four games by six points or less, including the aforementioned defeat to Colorado State. The Aztecs held third-quarter leads against San José State, CSU, Fresno State and Nevada while forging ties in two other games at Utah State and vs. UNLV.
Still, SDSU has been taking better care of the ball recently, maintaining the MW's best turnover margin (+3.7) in conference play. Through nine league games last season, the Aztecs committed 146 miscues, 27 more than this year's total, and ranked sixth in MW competition in turnover margin (-0.3). SDSU is also tied for fifth in league play with an average of 12.3 offensive rebounds per contest.
Individually, the Aztecs have been led so far this year by sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.), who occupies the sixth spot in the MW for all games in scoring (14.4 ppg) and ranks fifth in steals (2.2/gm), ninth in field-goal percentage (.463) and 12th in free-throw accuracy (.681). Meanwhile, senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) ranks seventh in conference play with a .368 three-point field goal percentage (14-38) and is averaging 11.4 points per game in MW action.
Following Wednesday's matchup, San Diego State will return to the Mountain time zone on Saturday, Feb. 6, when it squares off against New Mexico for the first time this season at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M.