March 6, 2017
Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
LAS VEGAS -
No. 9 seed San Diego State women's basketball fell in the opening round of the 2017 Mountain West Championship to eighth-seeded San José State, 76-58, at Thomas & Mack Center.
McKynzie Fort led the Aztecs with 19 points and was joined in double figures by Geena Gomez (13 points) and Baylee Vanderdoes (career-high 12).
It took quite a bit of time for the Aztecs to get going offensively to open the game. Save for a left-side floater by Fort two-an-a-half minutes in, SDSU did not score until nearly four minutes later. This allowed SJSU to take a 16-2 lead with four minutes to go in the period. But the Aztecs were able to close the period by out-scoring the Spartans, 7-3, for the 19-9 score after 10 minutes of play.
The Scarlet and Black continued its run into the second quarter, knocking down six unanswered points to close the gap to 19-15 in San José State's favor. However, the Spartans were able to end the half by overpowering the Aztecs, 16-11, to take a 35-26 lead into the intermission.
In the third quarter, Gomez attempted to single-handedly put San Diego State (11-19) on the right track. She scored eight points in the first 3:18 of the frame, getting SDSU within five points at 39-35. SJSU, though, was able to dominate the remainder of the period, beating the Aztecs, 15-4, for a 54-38 margin at the end of three quarters.
San José State continued its offensive prowess in the fourth quarter, winning the period narrowly, 22-20, for the final 76-58 score.