March 3, 2016
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team puts the finishing touches on its regular-season schedule on Friday when it travels to the Silver State to battle UNLV, starting at 5 p.m. PT in Las Vegas, Nevada.
SDSU alumnus Chris Ello will call the action courtside at Cox Pavilion for a live audio stream on GoAztecs.com, while streaming video will also be available courtesy of the Mountain West Network.
After winning five in a row, the Aztecs (11-17, 6-11 MW) have lost two straight, including a 64-45 defeat at the hands of New Mexico in their home finale on Tuesday. Sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.) led the Scarlet and Black with 11 points, while senior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.) also reached double figures with 10 points of her own.
However, SDSU was plagued by cold shooting in the first quarter, converting just 2 of their first 11 field-goal attempts (18 percent), before falling behind by a 17-6 count. On the flip side, the Lobos shot 47 percent from the floor (25-53) and maintained a 38-24 advantage in rebounds to help spoil the Aztecs' Senior Night festivities.
With the loss, SDSU was saddled with the No. 8 seed in next week's Mountain West Championship, where it will renew acquaintances with Wyoming in a first-round matchup on Monday, March 7, beginning a 2 p.m. PT inside Thomas & Mack Center. The Aztecs captured both encounters during the regular season, posting an 84-77 triumph in Laramie on Dec. 30, before claiming a 53-40 decision at home on Feb. 24.
UNLV (15-13, 8-9 MW), meanwhile, remains tied with New Mexico and Utah State in the race for the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament despite dropping five of its last seven games. The Lady Rebels were idle on Tuesday after falling at Wyoming by an 80-57 tally in their last outing on Feb. 27.
SDSU and UNLV will square off against one another for the 53rd occasion, which represents the Aztecs' second-most played rivalry behind New Mexico (58 games). SDSU holds a slim 27-25 lead in the all-time series after the Lady Rebels came away with a 55-41 triumph in the last encounter between the two teams at Steve Fisher Court on Jan. 30. In that contest, the score was deadlocked at 33-33 entering the fourth quarter; however, UNLV scored 11 straight points to seize control and eventually snap a nine-game losing streak in San Diego.
Conversely, the Aztecs have come up short in their last two visits to Las Vegas during the regular season and own a 10-17 record on the road against the Lady Rebels all-time. SDSU's last victory at Cox Pavilion came on Feb. 17, 2013 when it came away with an 86-50 conquest.
On Friday, the two sides will wear mismatched socks to support the Misfit MARCH Madness initiative, a program designed to spread the message of anti-bullying.
Individually, the Aztecs have been led by Fort, who occupies the fourth spot in the conference for all games in both scoring (14.6 ppg) and in steals (2.0/gm). In addition, the 5-9 guard ranks seventh in free-throw accuracy (.693) and 12th in field-goal percentage (.463). Senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.), meanwhile, has landed in the 10th position this weekend with a .362 three-point field-goal percentage in league play and is averaging 11.6 points per contest in MW action.
Not to be outdone, Smith has elevated her game recently, averaging 10.0 points and 7.2 rebounds over her last six games while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Elsewhere, junior