Jan. 26, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State will look to rebound when it hits the road for the first time in two weeks at Colorado State on Sat., Jan. 28 for a 2 p.m. (MT) contest. The game will stream live on the Mountain West Network, and Chris Ello will provide play-by-play for a live audio broadcast on GoAztecs.com.
Since the start of conference play, San Diego State's play from beyond the arc has been phenomenal. The Aztecs are second in MW play with 8.4 3-pointers per game, and have five-or-more games this year with double-digit 3-pointers. Junior Lexy Thorderson has had three games with five-or-more treys: a career-high seven against UNLV, six versus Boise State and five against Nevada. Her 2.4 3-pointers per game this season and 3.6 threes per conference game are the most in the Mountain West. Senior Kymberly Ellison is averaging 2.2 threes per game for second on the team and fifth in the Mountain West.
The Scarlet and Black is a team that believes in spreading the love. SDSU has a perfect 5-0 mark when garnering more assists than its opponent, is 8-3 when recording 10-or-more assists in a game and is 7-0 with 15+ total assists. In its home game versus UNLV, San Diego State notched a season-best 24 helpers, the most since the 2014-15 season opener against Sacramento State. Since the start of MW play, the Aztecs rank fourth with 14.0 assists per game.
A perennial powerhouse in the Mountain West, Colorado State (15-5, 7-1 MW) has shown no signs of dropping off from its historic 2015-16 season, in which it earned its first berth to the NCAA Tournament and national ranking since 2002. The Rams have won six straight Mountain West games and 28 of its last 29 league contests, out-scoring conference opponents this year, 67.0-51.0. Colorado State is one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking second nationally in field goal percentage defense ( 32.5), fourth in scoring defense (52.8) and 15th with 30 defensive rebounds per game. Reigning MW Player of the Year Ellen Nystrom is her team's top player, leading Colorado State in points (16.3 per game), rebounds (8.1 per game) assists (104) and steals (1.95 per game). Since the start of conference play, Elin Gustavsson has been her team's best scorer with 16.5 points per game while averaging a blistering .544 shooting percentage (56-for-103). Ryun Williams is in his fifth season at the helm of Colorado State's program.
Following their game at Colorado State, the Aztecs stay in the Mountain Time Zone with a game on Weds., Feb. 1 at Wyoming. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. (MT).