To say the San Diego State women’s basketball team needed to openits first road trip of the season with a victory isn’t much of astretch. Considering the team’s youth and score of new faces, anopening road loss at Cal State Fullerton could have proveddetrimental to its confidence.
It’s safe to say its confidence is still intact.
The Aztecs easily handled the Titans 73-50 on Monday night atTitan Gym. With the win, SDSU (2-1) won its first road game of theseason for the first time in eight years.
SDSU’s freshmen players took control of the game as Courtney Fritzled the way, finishing with a team-high 21 points. She became thethird Aztec to break the 20-point barrier this season. Fritz finishedthe game 6-of-8 from the field, including a perfect 5-of-5 frombeyond the arc.
“We all got into it and really hyped before the game, and that wasa big help for me,” Fritz said. “I knew that it was time for me tostep up. I hadn’t been shooting well the last couple of games and Ineeded to come and help the team as best as I could.”
Freshman Michelle Elliot scored in double figures for thethird-straight game, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-11 shootingincluding two three-pointers. Yet another freshman, Jessica Huettl,finished in double figures chipping in with 10 points.
SDSU got out to a fast start, hitting its first four shots as partof a 10-0 lead on three-pointers by Elliot and Fritz, and a pair ofjumpers by Elliot and junior Candace Mattson. Cal State Fullerton(0-3) finally scored on a three-pointer after a timeout, but the SDSUdefense continued to stymie the Titans.
The Aztecs then proceeded to go on a 15-0 run to extend their leadto 25-3.
It wasn’t until 4:16 remaining in the half that the Titans brokeinto double figures on a pair of free throws with the Aztecs up38-10. SDSU headed into the locker room with a comfortable 45-17halftime lead.
For the first half, SDSU shot 69 percent from the field, includingan impressive 78 percent (7-9) from downtown. Fritz was on fire asshe hit all five of her shots, including four from three-point land.
The second half was a little different as the Titans opened upwith a 17-4 run and tried to make it a game, cutting the lead to 17.However, a three-pointer from Fritz restored order for the Aztecs,sparking a 10-0 run that extended the lead 62-35 with less than 10minutes to play.
SDSU would lead by as many as 29 points before winning the game by23.
Elliot said she feels the team is in good shape – and that itcan’t act its age to have continued success on the road.
“I think this proves that we have players on our team, and we’regoing to stay composed and play our game,” Elliot said. “Even thoughwe might be young, we can’t play young or think young. It feelsreally good to get that first road win. We’ll have to forget aboutit, go harder the next game and look for another win.'”
