Feb. 18, 2017
LAS VEGAS -
San Diego State women's basketball and UNLV each made 10 3-pointers but the Rebels secured its victory on a better overall shooting percentage, as the Aztecs fell in a Mountain West contest, 80-62, on Saturday in Cox Pavilion.
With the loss, the Aztecs fall to 4-10 against conference opponents and they are now 9-16 on the year. The Rebels improve to 9-5 with the win and sports an 18-8 mark this season.
Junior Lexy Thorderson led the Scarlet and Black with 16 points on five treys to go alongside three boards. Classmate McKynzie Fort recorded 10 points with five assists, while sophomore Arantxa Gomez Ferrer tied a career high with a team-high five boards. Senior Kymberly Ellison posted 13 points on a trio of 3-pointers.
The Aztecs got off to a slow start in the contest, hitting just four shots on 13 attempts, three of which were long balls, to trail, 25-11, after 10 minutes of play.
The second quarter saw San Diego State tighten up its defense and out-score the Rebels, 17-16. UNLV, who did not commit a turnover in the first quarter, turned the ball over four times in the period's final 3:32. Conversely, the Aztecs turned the ball over four times in the quarter's opening 6:13 but they did not give the ball up after that. However, SDSU was behind at the intermission, 41-28.
Upon returning from halftime, the Scarlet and Black attempted to fight. Though it took SDSU 2:44 to make a field goal on Kymberly Ellison's jumper from just inside the 3-point arc, the basket seemed to light a fire. At 6:45, Thorderson hit a deep three, her fourth trey of the game, to put the game within single-digits at nine and, on the next Aztec possession, she was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made one, making the score 43-35 with 6:04 to go.
After UNLV scored six unanswered points, Thorderson drilled her fifth three of the game at 4:42 for the 48-38 score. Despite the fact that the Rebels closed out the quarter by making two shots on five attempts and SDSU was 3-for-5, UNLV was better on its increased opportunities at the charity stripe. The Rebels were 6-for-8 on free throws in the second half of the quarter, while the Aztecs were 3-for-5. Following the third quarter, San Diego State trailed the Rebels, 58-48.
In the fourth quarter, SDSU had trouble offensively, shooting just 4-of-14, and was out-scored, 22-14, for the final 80-62 score.
In the contest, UNLV shot 45.3 percent from the floor (24-of-53), drilling 10 threes on 19 shots. The Aztecs shot 34.5 percent from the floor (19-of-55), getting 10 threes of its own on 24 tries. The Scarlet and Black narrowly out-rebounded UNLV, 37-36, also earning the edge in offensive rebounds, 15-11. The Rebels recorded more steals (12-2), blocks (2-0), assists (14-11), and fewer turnovers (8-16).
San Diego State was assessed 25 personal fouls, tying a season high, while the Rebels were called for 17 personal fouls. SDSU was 14-for-22 from the free-throw line, with the Rebels making 22 of their 31 free throw attempts.
For its next game, San Diego State remains on the road when it visits Fresno State on Weds., Feb. 22 for a 7 p.m. game.