Glenn Connelly, Assistant Photo Editor

The San Diego State women’s basketball team is trying to fill in the blanks this season.

Head coach Beth Burns needs to know what her best lineup is and which players play the best together.

But with injuries to sophomores LaSandra Dixon and Tamika Lipford, Burns hadn’t been able to put the puzzle pieces in place.

“It’s hard to find any combination of players when we’ve had a lot of people hurt,” Burns said. “We’ve been trying to do the best we can (without them).”

But their best may not be good enough.

Early on, starting guards freshman Quenese Davis and junior Kate Eveland have been run to exhaustion, playing nearly 40 minutes per game.

Luckily for Burns, SDSU now has both Lipford and Dixon back. And the big picture is starting to come into focus.

The Aztecs were able to produce throughout the lineup when they played Southern Utah on Friday night in Cedar City, Utah, winning 55-52.

Against the Thunderbirds (0-4), Burns started Davis and Lipford, and the two complemented each other well.

Davis scored a career-high 18 points, while Lipford kept the team in line defensively.

“(We like) what we’re looking at with Quenese and Tamika,” Burns said. “Quenese is doing a great job at the point spot, but we really wanted to set the tone defensively, and Tamika (does that).

“(Tamika) did the dirty work to enable Quenese to do some other things. She’s was the one who was picking up full court. She had a huge game.”

With strong play from SDSU’s guards, the team was able to remain focused late in the game.

The Aztecs (2-3) had a 10-point advantage at 11 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first half, but still went to the locker room at halftime down 31-29. However, in the 35th minute, SDSU regained the lead and maintained it for the last few minutes because of key free throws down the stretch.

“For the first time this season, our offense really clicked,” Burns said. “I know we didn’t score a ton of points, but the way Quenese ran our offense, and the way our team held the Thunderbirds to 21 in the second half was huge for us. We really corrected a lot of errors.”

Burns said that with the win, the team can begin building some much-needed confidence.

“Success and confidence are tricky,” Burns said. “You need one to have the other, and vice versa.”

The Aztecs will have an opportunity to fine-tune their skills because the team has more than a week to practice before its next game.

“With all the injuries we’ve had, we just need to get back on the court and practice,” Burns said.

News and Notes

?Sophomore guard LaSandra Dixon logged seven minutes against Southern Utah just 12 days after knee surgery.

?The Aztecs won their first road game since beating Air Force on Feb. 26, 2005.