Before last night’s San Diego State women’s basketball game against the University of San Diego, Aztecs Athletic Director Rick Bay walked up to head coach Beth Burns to wish her team luck.

“I told Rick we are struggling offensively and I hope we win 2-1,” Burns said.

The Aztecs (2-1) did struggle offensively, but came away with a 55-34 victory over the Torreros (0-2) at Peterson Gym.

The first half is something Burns and the entire team would like to forget, managing only 18 points by intermission.

“We were out of it,” forward La-Taya Woods said. “We were unfocused and had no cohesiveness. We were just awful.”

Woods will get no argument from Burns. She saw her team shoot just 28 percent from the field and turn the ball over 16 times.

“Our performance in the first half is something I have never seen before,” Burns said. “I felt like I was coaching strangers.”

Senior forward Jodi Nowlin-Tres was the only player resembling her normal self, scoring nine points in the first half. She finished with a game-high 16 points.

Front court teammate Olivia DiCamilli needed a little calming down after finishing 0-for-7 from the field in the first half. Point guard Sandy Wright played a poor offensive first half, netting only two points, no assists and two turnovers.

“I felt we were trying to play too hard. We were just not thinking,” Wright said. “We relaxed and played more as a team in the second half.”

A big part of the second half turnaround was center Atiya Williams, who was forced to sit for most of the first half with foul trouble. She finished the game with six points, four assists and five blocked shots.

“The first half would not have happened if Atiya had not gotten her second foul,” Burns said. “Atiya was everywhere and everything (in the second half). Her presence alone attracted so much attention.”