Nov. 15, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
The San Diego State women's basketball team takes on a pair of West Coast Conference (WCC) foes with games against Southern California rivals San Diego and Loyola Marymount this weekend.
The Aztecs (1-1) will contend with crosstown rival San Diego Thurs., Nov. 17 at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion. Tip is set for 6 p.m. with Chris Ello calling the play-by-play action for a live audio stream on GoAztecs.com. On Sun., Nov. 20, SDSU welcomes Loyola Marymount to Viejas Arena for a 2 p.m. game. Ello will be calling the play-by-play action for live video on the Mountain West Network, hosted by GoAztecs.com.
All-time against WCC teams, the Aztecs are 76-65, sporting a 28-11 mark against San Diego and holding a 6-3 all-time advantage against Loyola Marymount.
Junior McKynzie Fort has been outstanding in the early part of the season, netting a career-high 28 points against the Hawks and 14 points at UC Riverside. Her 21.0 points per game rank second in the Mountain West. Freshman Baylee Vanderdoes has emerged as a vital part of the Aztecs' play, putting up a double-double vs. San Diego Christian. In the early part of the season, she has a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game.
San Diego, which advanced to the Sweet 16 of the WNIT a season ago, is off to a blistering start this season. The team is 2-0 with convincing wins against Big West foes in Cal State Fullerton and CSU Northridge. The Toreros opened the season with a dominating 103-50 win over the Titans. Four of the five USD starters scored in double figures, paced by Katherine Hamilton's 17 points. On Monday, San Diego got powerful performances from senior Maya Hood and freshman Patricia Brossman, who put up 22 and 17 points respectively in a 76-67 win over CSU Northridge. Hood is the team's top point-getter and also tops her squad with nine rebounds per game.
In SDSU and USD's meeting last season, the Toreros, who has been averaging a winning margin of 19 points prior to the game, beat the Aztecs in Viejas Arena, 60-53. Kymberly Ellison finished with a career-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting to match Fort, who contributed a personal-best eight rebounds and five steals.
Loyola Marymount has suffered a pair of tough losses against Washington State and Saint Louis to open the season, allowing an average of 91 points in each contest. Jackie Johnson, who tops the team with a double-double per game (15 points, 10 rebounds), set career-highs against Saint Louis on Sun., Nov. 13 with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Cheyenne Wallace put up a career-high 26 points in the loss. Andee Velasco, who set LMU's freshman record last year with 125, leads the team in that category this season with eight assists. Before visiting Viejas Arena, the Lions will visit Oklahoma State on Thurs., Nov. 17.
The teams' match-up last season saw the Lions connect on 33-of-62 field goal attempts (53.2 percent) and 10-of-23 three-pointers to beat the Aztecs, 92-65, at LMU's Gersten Pavilion. In the third quarter alone, Loyola Marymount out-scored San Diego State, 32-14. Individually, SDSU was paced by Fort, who tallied 15 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
Season tickets are available for the Aztecs' 2016-17 home schedule and start at just $60. Tickets can be purchased through GoAztecs.com, over the phone by calling (619) 283-7378, or by visiting Qualcomm Stadium's Window E between 9 a.m. PT and 5 p.m. PT.