Feb. 26, 2016
SAN DIEGO - Two teams with opposite aspirations will collide on Saturday when San Diego State ventures to the Treasure Valley of Idaho to lock horns with Boise State in a key Mountain West showdown at Taco Bell Arena, starting at 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, while streaming video will also be available courtesy of the Mountain West Network.
SDSU (11-15, 6-9 MW) will be aiming for its sixth straight victory after knocking off Wyoming at home by a 53-40 count on Wednesday. Despite a sluggish start, the Aztecs seized control of the game with an 18-2 surge in the second quarter to forge a 24-14 advantage by halftime.
The Scarlet and Black was led by senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.), who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while fellow classmate Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.) finished with 10 points of her own to go with five rebounds and two steals. SDSU shot 50 percent from the floor (20-40) over the final three quarters while limiting the Cowgirls to a 24-percent clip on field goals during that stretch to complete the regular-season sweep.
On the flip side, Boise State (16-10, 9-6 MW) will be looking to put the brakes on a four-game losing streak after dropping a 78-68 decision at UNLV in its last outing on Feb. 24.
With three games remaining in the regular season, SDSU occupies the eighth position in the Mountain West standings just one game behind New Mexico and Utah State, which are both tied for the sixth spot, and two games in back of UNLV for fifth. The Aztecs will face both the Lobos (home) and Lady Rebels (away) before heading off to the conference tournament, while the Broncos, who are tied for third with San José State, will travel to Nevada next week before tackling the Spartans in their home finale.
Despite maintaining a 7-3 lead in the all-time series, SDSU has dropped two straight to Boise State, including a 75-45 defeat at Steve Fisher Court on Jan. 16. In that game, the Aztecs were outscored by a 36-11 margin in the second half, connecting on just three of their final 24 field-goal attempts. In addition, SDSU has come short in their last two visits to Taco Bell Arena, including a 64-58 setback during the 2014-15 campaign.
Individually, the Aztecs have been led by sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana. Calif.), who occupies the fifth spot in the conference for all games in scoring (14.5 ppg) and is fourth in steals (2.1/gm). In addition, the 5-9 guard ranks eighth in free-throw accuracy (.699) and 13th in field-goal percentage (.462). Harvey, meanwhile, has landed in the eighth position this weekend with a .370 three-point field-goal percentage in league play and is averaging 11.8 points per contest in MW action. Over her last three games, Harvey has connected on 17 of 32 shots from the floor (.531) and has averaged 5.7 rebounds.
In addition, Smith has found her range recently, draining 57 percent of her field-goal attempts over the past eight games (31-54), while junior Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.) has dished out five assists in each of the last three contests and ranks fourth in conference play with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Following Saturday's engagement, San Diego State will close out the home portion of its regular-season slate on Tuesday, March 1, when it battles New Mexico at 6:30 p.m. PT. Prior to the Aztecs-Lobos clash, the Scarlet and Black will honor their co-captains Harvey and Smith to highlight Senior Night festivities.