Jan. 26, 2018
MW Network | Live Stats | Game Notes
SAN DIEGO --The San Diego State women's basketball team returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 27, when it takes on UNLV in a highly anticipated matchup at Steve Fisher Court. Game time is set for 1 p.m. PT.
SDSU alumnus Chris Ello will call the action courtside for a live video stream via the Mountain West Network/Stadium on GoAztecs.com.
Saturday's contest will be the focus of National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Montezuma Mesa. For the 11th straight year, the event will be held in cooperation with the San Diego County Office of Education and will give fans the chance to meet and greet student-athletes from several of SDSU's 12 women's athletic programs. The concourse outside of the arena will open at 11:30 a.m. and will include special pre-game activities, followed by the Aztecs-Lady Rebels clash. In addition, the SDSU women's hoops squad will honor select alumnae in a special ceremony just prior to tip-off and will also remain on hand to autograph free posters after the game.
The Aztecs (9-10, 3-5 MW) are currently tied for eighth in a congested Mountain West race with San José State through eight conference games. Nearly halfway through the league schedule, SDSU finds itself just two-and-a-half games behind UNLV and Boise State, which stand in a virtual tie for second place heading into this weekend.
After scoring a season-high 97 points against New Mexico on Jan. 20, the Aztecs were limited to over half that total in a 72-43 road loss at Colorado State last Wednesday. SDSU received 12 points apiece from Geena Gomez and Najé Murray, but it wasn't enough as the Rams outscored the Scarlet and Black 50-21 over the second and third periods to erase a 17-15 deficit.
Entering Saturday's game, McKynzie Fort occupies the second spot in the Mountain West with an average of 17.2 points for all games and ranks eighth in field-goal percentage (.492) and 10th in assists (3.5/gm). In addition, Gomez (9.3 ppg) is seventh in assists (4.1/gm) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), while Murray (9.5 ppg) has climbed into the ninth spot as well in both three-pointers made (1.9/gm) and three-point accuracy (.387).
Despite getting held to just seven points at CSU, Fort crept closer to third place on the Aztecs career scoring list. The Fontana, Calif., native has amassed 1,543 points in a Scarlet and Black uniform and needs just 56 more to surpass current SDSU player of development Paris Johnson for the No. 3 spot all-time.
As a team, the Aztecs rank fifth in the MW this weekend in three-pointers made (7.2/gm), rebounding offense (37.9/gm), rebounding defense (37.1/gm) and rebounding margin (+0.8).
The Aztecs will square off against the Lady Rebels for the 56th occasion, tying Colorado State for the second-most frequently played opponent in program history behind New Mexico (61), while Wyoming (55) ranks fourth.
UNLV has won three out of the last four against SDSU, including an 82-60 triumph in Las Vegas in the last meeting between the two schools on Feb. 18, 2017.
However, the Aztecs have captured 10 of the last 11 encounters at Steve Fisher Court, including an 87-68 conquest on Jan. 18, 2017. In that game, SDSU drained a season-high 14 three-pointers, with Lexy Thorderson (7) and Kymberly Ellison (4) combining for 11 of those triples to finish with 21 points apiece.
The Aztecs maintain a slim 28-27 lead in the all-time series and are 18-19 against Saturday's adversary in the Mountain West era. In those 18 victories, SDSU has won by an average of 14.4 points. Ironically, in those 19 defeats, the Aztecs have lost by an identical average margin.
UNLV (10-8, 5-2 MW) had its five-game winning streak snapped in a narrow 74-72 loss to Fresno State at home on Wednesday night. The Lady Rebels led 72-68 after two free throws by Brooke Johnson with 20 seconds left, but the Bulldogs pulled off a miraculous finish, thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Ely Gamez in the final five seconds.
With the loss, UNLV dropped out of a tie for first place in the Mountain West standings and now sits one game behind Wyoming.
The Lady Rebels were picked to finish fifth in the MW preseason poll with 185 points, just behind New Mexico (186 pts), but still garnered two first-place votes.
Offensively, UNLV is fueled by the three-pronged attack of senior Brooke Johnson (15.3 ppg), junior Katie Powell (15.0 ppg) and fellow classmate Nikki Wheatley (13.0 ppg), who rank sixth, eighth and 12th, respectively, among the conference's top scorers.
Johnson also finds herself among the league leaders in several categories, including free-throw percentage (2nd, .853), steals (4th, 1.9/gm), assists (6th, 4.1/gm) and three-point field goals made (T-10th, 1.9/gm). The 6-0 guard has accounted for 34 of the team's 83 triples this season.
Not to be outdone, Powell (8.9 rpg) and Wheatley (8.3 rpg) enter the weekend ranked second and third in rebounds, respectively. Wheatley returned to the Lady Rebels' starting lineup at New Mexico on Jan. 17, after missing five straight games due to a foot injury incurred at No. 18 Stanford on Dec. 16.
Collectively, UNLV leads the MW in overall rebounds (42.4/gm) and offensive rebounds (15.3/gm) while occupying in the second and third positions, respectively in rebounding margin (+6.4) and defensive rebounds (27.1/gm).
As a team, the Lady Rebels are slotted fifth in the conference this week in scoring offense (66.0 ppg), scoring defense (67.5 ppg), but rank just 10th in overall field-goal percentage (.378).
However, UNLV opponents are connecting at just a .391 clip on their shots from the floor, which is third-worst in the league.
Similarly, the Lady Rebels are last in the league three-point field-goal percentage (.263) and rank 10th with 4.6 triples made per game.
Redshirt junior Alyssa Anderson was a prep teammate of Aztec senior McKynzie Fort at Etiwanda High School, helping the Eagles to four Baseline League championships and a spot in the CIF Southern Section Open Division semifinals as a senior.
Following Saturday's action, SDSU will enjoy its second open date of the conference schedule before heading back out on the road for a MW clash at Air Force on Saturday, Feb. 3. Opening tip at the Academy is slated for 1 p.m. MT/Noon PT.