By Brian MontgomeryStaff Writer
What a difference a day makes.
One day after San Diego State shot a school-record 68 percent fromthe field in an 88-59 victory over Illinois State, it turned rightaround and was dominated by the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga74-59 in the championship game of the Pacific Bell Classic at CoxArena.
Despite holding the height advantage, SDSU (1-3) couldn’t controlthe boards. UTC outrebounded the Aztecs 44-23 despite not startingone player 6-feet or taller.
“I thought we did an excellent job on the boards,” said Lady Mocshead coach Wes Moore. “We don’t have size, but we got in position torebound.”
Forward Tanisha Knight said the intensity against UTC wasn’t thesame as it was against ISU the night before.
“We didn’t get the big box-outs,” Knight said. “It’s frustratingbecause we did have the height advantage. We didn’t show up as a teamin the intensity area. I’m still a little upset.”
SDSU stayed close to the Lady Mocs for most of the first 10minutes. With UTC leading 17-15 with 11 minutes to play in the firsthalf, the Aztecs shooting went cold. The Lady Mocs (3-1) were able tocapitalize on SDSU’s drought and went on a 22-9 run to end the half.They took a 15-point lead into the locker room.
“(SDSU) has such deadly 3-point shooters, they shot the lights out(Friday night vs. Illinois State),” Moore said. “We were probablyfortunate that they weren’t as hot as before.”
The main reason why the Aztecs found themselves losing was becauseof the standout play of UTC forward Jennifer Wilson and guard DamitaBullock. Wilson, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, scored acareer-high 24 points (10-12 from the field), grabbed six boards andadded four steals. Bullock chipped in with 16 points, six reboundsand three steals.
Coach Barb Smith said SDSU didn’t do a good job of defendingagainst Wilson and Bullock early in the game.
“They were able to take some wide-open shots early and they gotconfidence,” Smith said. “We didn’t rotate to them on defense. Theywere really good scorers and we just weren’t able to defend them.”
The Aztecs came out in the second half with a bit more intensityto cut the deficit to 10, but they were unable to get the scorewithin single digits.
The Lady Mocs had a different style of play than what SDSU facedthe night before against the Redbirds. They played up-tempo, pushingthe ball whenever possible. They were also able to get some easybaskets against the Aztecs by stepping into the passing lanes forsteals.
SDSU guard Jamey Cox said the lack of patience on the Aztecs’ partwas the difference.
“We turned the ball over too much,” she said. “We weren’t patient,weren’t moving around and weren’t setting many screens. We justlooked lethargic out there.”
Knight agreed.
“They were the ones getting all the second shots,” she said. “Wedidn’t dive for the loose balls or box out.”
Cox and Knight were named to the All-Tournament team and led SDSUwith 21 and 16 points, respectively. As a team, the Aztecs shot justover 40 percent for the game, compared to 48 percent for UTC.
“I think their defense took us out of our offense a little bit,”Smith said. “We didn’t take as good of shots as we did the nightbefore. We were forcing shots. We didn’t execute as well today.”
