Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor

Before heading to the Virgin Islands to compete in the 2009 U.S Virgin Islands Paradise Jam last Thursday the San Diego State women’s basketball team received good news.
SDSU achieved its first top-25 national ranking in 14 years with a No. 23 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

“We needed confidence coming into such a prestigious tournament,” senior guard Jené Morris said. “And the ranking helped.”

But it wasn’t enough.

The Aztecs dropped two consecutive games against ranked opponents, before losing 58-55 to South Carolina on Saturday in St. Thomas.

The contest between SDSU and the Gamecocks went back and forth until the end.
With 30 seconds left, sophomore forward Charenee Stephens scored to give South Carolina a 56-52 lead. The Aztecs responded with a 3-pointer from junior guard Jerica Williams to cut the lead to one. But sophomore guard La’Keisha Sutton came back with a breakaway layup to extend the Gamecocks’ lead to three.

SDSU had an opportunity to send the game to overtime, but senior guard Quenese Davis missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, allowing South Carolina (3-3) to get the upset win.
But the Aztecs still had something to take away from it all. Morris scored her 1,000th career point.

“It’s an honor and (it’s) amazing,” Morris said of her achievement. “I really didn’t think I would make it, seeing that I transferred. I didn’t think I’d have enough time. It’s always been a goal, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”

The squad started off slow against No. 20 / 17 Oklahoma (4-2) and couldn’t get anything going in a 87-48 loss. SDSU was led by Paris Johnson, as the junior center was the lone Aztec in double figures with 10 points and also posted a game-high six rebounds.

SDSU struggled out of the gate against No. 5 / 6 Notre Dame, allowing the Irish to take a 30-9 advantage. But the Aztecs mounted a comeback behind a 13-8 run to cut the deficit to 44-29 at the half.

SDSU continued to battle in the second half and was within single digits at 69-60 with less than six minutes to play. Notre Dame stretched its lead back to double digits, but Morris then hit three straight 3-pointers to bring the Aztecs within four at 79-75.

Two free throws by Davis, who matched a career-best with 25 points, brought SDSU within a basket with 29 seconds left. But the Irish (6-0) connected on three of their four shots from the line to get the 84-79 win.

“I was disappointed in our start,” head coach Beth Burns told goaztecs.com. “I knew going in that Notre Dame does a great job spreading the floor and their experience really shows 8212; they capitalize on every mistake. I thought Quenese (Davis) played a fabulous game. She’s the only reason we stayed in the game. I encouraged our team at halftime to give her a little bit of help and I thought we came back and competed in the second half.”
The Aztecs (3-3) will now prepare for UC Riverside at 5 p.m. on Friday in the Student Recreation Center.