March 4, 2016
LAS VEGAS -- The San Diego State women's basketball team closed out its regular-season slate on a sour note Friday, falling to UNLV by a 62-51 count at Cox Pavilion. With the loss, the Aztecs slip to 11-19 overall and 6-12 in the Mountain West, while the Lady Rebels move to 16-13 on the year and even their record at 9-9 in conference play.
Nursing a slim 17-16 lead at the end of the first period, SDSU was outscored by a combined 31-15 in the second and third quarters, shooting 5 for 17 from the floor (29.4 percent) as UNLV seized control. The Lady Rebels also maintained a 32-23 rebounding advantage for the game, including a 12-4 spread on the offensive glass, while scoring 27 points off 19 Aztec turnovers to help complete the season sweep for the first time since 2006.
Although both teams connected on over 47 percent of their respective field-goal attempts, UNLV drained 9 of 15 shots from three-point territory (60 percent), SDSU was just 4 for 13 from beyond the arc (31 percent) and made just 7 of 13 free throws.
Individually, the Aztecs were paced by senior Deidra Smith (Aurora, Colo.), who finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with a game-high eight rebounds, while sophomore McKynzie Fort finished with 10 points of her own. In addition, the SDSU cause was advanced by junior Ariell Bostick (Oakland, Calif.), who finished with eight points and three steals, while senior Ahjalee Harvey (Mountain View, Calif.) dished out a game-high five assists.
On the opposite side, four Lady Rebels accounted for 58 of the team's 62 points, led by Dakota Gonzalez's game-high points, followed closely by Brooke Johnson, who finished with 16 points, highlighted by a 4-for-5 performance from three-point range. In addition, Dylan Gonzalez accompanied her aforementioned twin sister with 14 points off the bench in the second half, including a trio of triples, while Nikki Wheatley reached double figures as well with 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting.
The Aztecs got off to a decent start, hitting on 9 of its first 13 field goals, including a 4-4 effort from Smith, who also sank her third career three-pointers to help give the visitors a 19-16 advantage with 12 seconds elapsed in the second quarter.
However, SDSU made just one additional basket and three free throws for the remainder of the period as UNLV used a 10-3 spurt to vault in front for good 26-22 with 3:15 left before intermission. Wheatley scored seven points during the run, while the Aztecs shot themselves in the foot with three turnovers.
SDSU kept things close briefly following a layup by Smith at the 2:38 mark before the Lady Rebels closed the half with a 9-1 surge, capped by Johnson's three-pointer at the buzzer, to give themselves some extra breathing room at 35-25 heading into the locker room.
The Aztecs' woes continued in the third quarter, draining just 3 of 9 shots from the floor and 1 of 5 attempts from the charity while posting five additional giveaways. Meanwhile, the Lady Rebels methodically padded their total, building their largest lead of the night at 60-39 with 3:34 to go in the fourth quarter. Dylan Gonzalez scored 11 consecutive points during a four-minute stretch in the period, highlighted by a pair of threes.
SDSU finished the game with a 12-2 run to narrow the gap, but it came too little too late as a triple by sophomore Geena Gomez (Huntington Beach, Calif.) with five seconds to go provided the contest its final tally on the scoreboard.
The Aztecs will return to Las Vegas for the first round of the Mountain West Championship on Monday, March 7 when they square off against Wyoming, starting at 2 p.m. PT inside Thomas & Mack Center.