Feb. 5, 2016
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team will hit the road once again this Saturday when it travels to the Land of Enchantment to face New Mexico at WisePies Arena, aka The Pit, in Albuquerque, N.M. Game time is set for 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT.
SDSU alumnus Chris Ello will call the action courtside for a live audio stream on GoAztecs.com. In addition, streaming video of the Aztecs-Lobos clash will be available courtesy of the Mountain West Network.
SDSU (6-15, 1-9 MW) will be looking for an immediate reversal of fortune after experiencing a 70-54 setback at league leader Colorado State on Wednesday, which extended its season-long losing skid to nine games. Trailing 33-22 at halftime, the Aztecs trimmed the deficit to single digits early in the third quarter, before the Rams responded with a 20-5 run to put the game out of reach. Meanwhile, New Mexico (11-9, 4-5 MW) will be seeking a return to the win column as well after falling at UNLV 57-48 in its last outing on Feb. 3.
SDSU has battled the Lobos more than any other team in program history, with UNM maintaining a 31-25 lead in the all-time series. The Aztecs have dropped four in a row to the Lobos, including a heartbreaking 57-56 defeat in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Mountain West Championship. SDSU has also lost two straight in Albuquerque after winning in five consecutive visits from 2009-13 and is 10-13 all-time in the Duke City.
During its nine-game slide, SDSU has been agonizingly close on several occasions, losing four games by six points or less, including a 60-57 nail-biter to Colorado State at home on Jan. 13. 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 (+3.5) in conference play. Through 10 league games last season, the Aztecs committed 160 miscues, 29 more than this year's total, and ranked sixth in MW competition in turnover margin (+0.5). Entering the weekend, SDSU is also fourth in league play in rebounding defense (37.1/gm) and three-pointers made (5.0/gm).
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 (14.1 ppg) and ranks fifth in steals (2.1/gm), 12th in field-goal percentage (.460) and 12th in free-throw accuracy (.684). Meanwhile, senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) is tied for eighth in conference play with an average of 1.4 three-pointers per game (14 overall) and is averaging 10.8 points per outing in MW action.
In addition, fellow classmate Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.) has found her range recently, connecting on 70.6 percent of her field-goal attempts over the past four games (12-17), while junior Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.) is averaging 6.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists during the same span.
Following Saturday's encounter, San Diego State will return to the friendly environs of Montezuma Mesa on Wednesday, Feb. 10, when it awaits a rematch with Fresno State, starting at 6:30 p.m. PT. The Bulldogs escaped with a 54-49 victory in Fresno on Jan. 20.