March 6, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Tournament Notes vs. Wyoming
NEWS AND NOTES
* The eighth-seeded San Diego State women's basketball team will square off against a familiar opponent on Monday when it battles No. 9 seed Wyoming in the first round of the 2016 Mountain West Championship, beginning at 2 p.m. PT in Las Vegas, Nev.
* The Aztecs-Cowgirls clash will be broadcast live over the air by ESPN 1700 AM, with SDSU alumnus Chris Ello calling the action courtside from Thomas & Mack Center. A live video stream will also be available courtesy of the MW Network.
* The two sides will be facing one another for the third time this year after SDSU swept both meetings during the regular season. The Aztecs opened conference play with an 84-77 victory in Laramie on Dec. 30, before posting a 53-40 triumph at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena on Feb. 24.
* SDSU's 84 points at Arena-Auditorium was its highest offensive output against Wyoming in series history. Despite the fireworks, defense has frequently characterized the Aztecs-Cowgirls rivalry since 2000, with the winning team scoring over 70 points just eight times in the past 35 encounters.
* Monday's clash will be SDSU's 53rd overall meeting against Wyoming, tying UNLV for its second-most frequently played opponent in program history behind New Mexico (58 games).
* The all-time series between the Aztecs and Cowgirls is tied at 26 games apiece. However, SDSU has captured eight of 10 from Wyoming since the 2011-12 campaign.
* The Aztecs will engage Wyoming at the MW Championship for the first time since 2012. That season, SDSU came away with a 73-55 conquest in the semifinal round, before knocking off New Mexico by a 57-43 count in the title game to clinch the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet and Black is 3-1 all-time vs. the Cowgirls at the MW tourney.
* The Aztecs have won five straight in the MW Championship when facing a team they swept during the regular season. The last time SDSU dropped a conference tournament game to an opponent it posted a 2-0 record against in league play occurred in a first-round loss to New Mexico in 2011.
* The Aztecs have won four consecutive openers at the MW Championship and are 16-12 all-time in conference tournament lid-lifters, including a 70-48 blasting of Nevada last season.
* San Diego State has won 54 straight and has gone 84-1 since the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign when leading with five minutes left in the game. The Aztecs' lone blemish during that span occurred in a 59-58 heart-breaking loss at Washington on Dec. 5, 2012.
* Entering the tournament, SDSU occupies the third spot in the MW with a plus-1.3 turnover margin and are tied for sixth with an average of 4.8 three-pointers made per game. At this time last year, the Aztecs were ninth out of 11 teams with a minus-3.4 turnover margin and ranked last with just 2.3 triples per contest.
* Individually, sophomore McKynzie Fort finds herself among the league leaders for all games in scoring (t-5th - 14.4 ppg), steals (t-3rd - 2.0/gm), free-throw percentage (7th - (.688)) and field-goal percentage (10th - (.466). The 5-9 forward owns the top single-game shooting percentage in the Mountain West this year with a 10-for-12 effort (.833) in the Aztecs' 64-54 win over North Dakota State on Nov. 27.