March 1, 2016
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SAN DIEGO -- After winning five straight, the San Diego State women's basketball team dropped its second game in a row on Tuesday, falling to a spirited New Mexico squad by a 64-45 count at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena.
With the loss, the Aztecs (11-17, 6-11 MW) were virtually assured of an eighth-place finish in the Mountain West with one game left before the conference tournament. Meanwhile, the Lobos (15-13, 8-9 MW) moved into a tie for fifth place with Utah State (13-15, 8-9 MW) and UNLV (15-13, 8-9 MW), which was idle on Tuesday night. SDSU will visit the Lady Rebels on Friday to close off its 2015-16 regular-season slate.
The Aztecs were unable to recover from a 17-6 deficit in first quarter, converting just 2 of 11 shots from the floor (18.4 percent) in the period. For the game, SDSU connected on just 17 of 49 attempts (34.7 percent), including a 1-for-10 clip from three-point range, while New Mexico shot 47.2 percent overall (25-53) to spoil the Aztecs Senior Night festivities.
SDSU had no answers for the Lobo duo of Cherise Beynon (20 pts) and Khadijah Shumpert (15 pts), who combined for 35 points on 14-for-24 shooting (58.3 percent). Beynon drained four of UNM's six three-pointers on the night, while fellow teammate Bryce Owens also got into the act with six points and three assists to go with a game-high eight rebounds.
On the flip side, sophomore McKynzie Fort (Fontana, Calif.) finished with 11 points to lead the Aztecs, but was just 4-for-13 from the field, while senior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.) totaled 10 points of her own. SDSU also received a fine effort from junior Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.), who tied her personal best with five steals while adding six points and a team-high five rebounds.
The Aztecs cut the deficit to single digits on two occasions in the second quarter, including a 21-12 spread at the 4:43 mark of the period following a layup by Smith. However, the Lobos countered with an 11-7 spurt to take a 32-18 lead into the locker room. Kianna Keller tallied four points during the run, while Owens converted an and-one opportunity for the visitors.
After the break, SDSU never mustered a threat, as New Mexico gave itself some additional breathing room with a trio of three-pointers in third quarter, including one by Kenya Pye at the 1:50 mark of the period, which provided the Lobos their biggest lead of the night at 53-29.
Despite maintaining a slim 28-22 advantage on points in the paint, the Aztecs were outrebounded by a sizebale 38-24 margin, including a 28-19 spread on the defensive glass.
Prior to the contest, San Diego State celebrated the accomplishments of its two co-captains, Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) and Deidra Smith, in a special pregame ceremony to highlight Senior Night festivities.
As previously mentioned, the Aztecs will wrap up their regular-season slate at UNLV on Friday, starting at 5 p.m. PT inside Cox Pavilion.