Jan. 23, 2018
MW Network | Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State women's basketball team will play its first repeat Mountain West opponent of the season on Wednesday, Jan. 24, when it travels to the front range of the Rocky Mountains to battle Colorado State in a midweek clash, starting at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT.
SDSU alumnus Chris Ello will call the action courtside at Moby Arena for a live audio webcast on GoAztecs.com, with a link to streaming video courtesy of the Mountain West Network/Stadium also available online.
SDSU is coming off a wild 97-89 victory over New Mexico at home in its last outing on Jan. 20. Senior McKynzie Fort (32 pts), freshman Najé Murray (29 pts) and senior Geena Gomez (11 assists) all posted career highs in that contest to help the Aztecs snap a two-game losing skid.
SDSU trailed 69-66 early in the fourth quarter, but outscored the Lobos 31-20 over the final 9:45, connecting on 11 of 13 field goals, including a 4-for-4 clip from three-point territory.
Coupled with a 20-point effort earlier in the week at Fresno State, Fort has vaulted into fourth place on the Aztecs' all-time scoring list with 1,536 career points. She needs just 63 points to surpass current SDSU director of player development Paris Johnson for third place in school history.
Entering Wednesday's contest, Fort occupies the second spot in the Mountain West with an average of 17.8 points for all games and ranks sixth in field-goal percentage (.504) and ninth in assists (3.5/gm). In addition, Gomez (9.3 ppg) is sixth in assists (4.2/gm) and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5). Despite missing the last five games, Lexy Thorderson still finds herself among the league leaders as well in three-pointers per game (6th, 2.4) and three-point field-goal percentage (7th, .407). Not to be outdone, Murray is tied for 10th this week in triples per game (1.9) and ranks 11th with a .391 pace from beyond the arc.
In conference play, Fort has taken over the top spot in scoring with 20.7 points per game and leads all guards with a .564 field-goal percentage, which ranks fifth overall. The Fontana, Calif., native also occupies the ninth spot against league opponents in assists (3.9/gm) and ranks 10th in rebounds (7.0/gm).
As a team, the Aztecs enter the week among the top half of the MW for all games in three-pointers made (4th, 7.2/gm) scoring offense (5th, 67.2 ppg), rebounding margin (5th, +1.4) and rebounding defense (36.9/gm).
SDSU will be look to avenge a hard-fought 65-63 loss to Colorado State at home on Jan. 3. The Aztecs led by as many as 13 in the second quarter and six in the fourth period. However, the Rams shot 83.3 percent from the field in the final 10 minutes (10-12), including a layup with two seconds remaining to escape.
The Aztecs have faced the Rams on 55 previous occasions, marking the fourth-most frequently played opponent in program history behind New Mexico (61), Wyoming (56) and UNLV (55).
Colorado State has dominated the series recently, winning 10 straight encounters, including a narrow 65-63 triumph at Steve Fisher Court on Jan. 3. During that stretch, the Rams have limited SDSU to just 49.1 points per game.
Not surprisingly, defense has exemplified the rivalry of late, with the wining team scoring over 70 points just nine times in the past 39 games dating back to 2000.
The Aztecs sport a 10-15 record against CSU in Fort Collins, but have struggled there recently, losing four straight at Moby Arena by an average of 25.8 points.
Since defeating the Aztecs in San Diego on Jan. 3, Colorado State (12-7, 4-4 MW) has dropped three of its last five games, including a 56-52 setback at UNLV in its last outing on Jan. 20. Prior to their loss against the Lady Rebels, the Rams eked out a narrow 40-39 victory three days earlier at winless Air Force.
With the results, CSU enters the week in a tie for sixth place in the Mountain West standings along with New Mexico.
After capturing four straight league titles, the Rams were picked to finish second in the league's preseason poll released on Nov. 1. CSU earned 211 points and six first-place votes, trailing Boise State (221 pts, 7 first-place votes) and Wyoming (216 pts, 6 first-place votes) by a close margin.
Offensively, the Rams are led by freshman Grace Colaivalu (11.0 ppg), who ranks among the conference leaders in field-goal percentage (4th, .521), steals (T-9th, 1.4/gm) and assists (10th, 3.5/gm).
Senior Stine Austgulen (8.9 ppg) is also tied for second in the league with a .479 clip from beyond the three-point arc, which is good for sixth in the nation. The Bergen, Norway, native has drained a team-high 46 triples in 96 attempts for an average of 2.42 per contest, which ranks fifth in the conference.
In addition, CSU has received a boost from seniors Veronika Mirkovic, Hannah Tvrdy and junior Annie Brady, who share the team lead with 5.9 rebounds per game.
The Rams have been particularly stingy on defense so far this year, limiting opponents to a conference-worst .340 overall field-goal percentage, which ranks fourth in the country, and a .257 clip from three-point territory. In addition, CSU is second in the MW with just 54.8 points per game allowed, but is only ninth on the other side of the ball with 59.9 points per outing.
Nevertheless, the Rams are still fourth in the league with a plus-5.1 scoring margin and field-goal percentage (.409). CSU also finds itself in the top half of the conference in blocked shots (3rd, 3.5/gm) and turnover margin (4th, +1.0).
Following its excursion to the Centennial State, SDSU will play host to UNLV on Saturday, Jan. 27, to highlight National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Montezuma Mesa. Game time is set for 1 p.m. PT.