Feb. 28, 2017
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -
San Diego State women's basketball used a complete team performance to secure a road Mountain West victory, downing Air Force, 64-51, Tuesday night in Clune Arena.
"I thought that, other than a couple of moments when we lost our composure, we maintained the game really well tonight," head coach Stacie Terry said. "I thought we competed really well for 40 minutes. Air Force is one of the toughest teams in the conference. Their record doesn't reflect that, but they play so hard every single possession. This was a great win for us on the road."
With the win, SDSU improves to 5-12 in conference play and is 10-18 this year. The loss drops Air Force to 2-15 against MW foes and 4-23 overall.
SDSU had one of its most consistent games of the season, scoring at least 13 points in each quarter. Additionally, every Aztec scored two-or-more points.
The team was led offensively by McKynzie Fort and, getting a season high, Ariell Bostick. Khalia Lark grabbed a team-high 10 boards, her most since she got 12 rebounds versus Air Force in San Diego, to go alongside eight points. Castle Rock, Colo., native Lexy Thorderson put down three of the Aztecs' four long balls, recording 10 points.
Playing a career-best 14 minutes, junior Allison Brown recorded four boards and five points with a pair of helpers, all bests while donning the Scarlet and Black. She also did not turn the ball over once.
"Alli works so hard for us every day in practice and she does the little things," Terry said of the walk-on. "She has an incredibly high basketball IQ and she understands the schemes. I'm really proud of her tonight. She came out, she played, and she was a huge lift for us."
The Aztecs opened the game by scoring six unanswered points, but Air Force responded by out-scoring SDSU, 10-5, to tie the game at 10-10 with 4:38 to go in the period. San Diego State was able to double up on the Falcons, 6-3, to take a 16-13 lead after 10 minutes of play.
The Scarlet and Black was able to increase that lead to six on seven third-quarter points by Thorderson.
The Aztecs continued to build on their margin in the third quarter, due in large part to the play of Bostick and Brown. Bostick posted seven points, while Brown cashed in on a 3-point play with just under two minutes to go in the period. SDSU was up, 51-43, after 30 minutes were logged.
SDSU saved its most dominant performance for last, using a 13-8 margin in the fourth quarter to secure the 64-51 win.
San Diego State shot 45.6 percent from the floor (26-for-57), its best shooting performance in three games, despite only drilling four 3-pointers. Air Force produced a .364 shooting percentage (20-for-55), drilling six 3-pointers with four coming from Mariah Forde.
The Scarlet and Black was dominant on the glass, out-rebounding the Falcons, 41-32, and pulling down 10 offensive boards to Air Force's six boards. The Aztecs' 41 rebounds were their second most tallied this season. Bostick and Kymberly Ellison each snatched a trio of steals, giving SDSU the advantage in that category, 6-4. Assists were tied, 15-15.
Said Terry of the win, "We've been struggling a little bit and this will hopefully help us going into the tournament."
San Diego State honors its seniors in its final regular season contest of the season on Fri., March 3 against New Mexico. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m.