The Women’s National Invitational Tournament ended for the Aztecs on Saturday, which means their season is officially done. San Diego State lost 69-58 to old Mountain West Conference foe Brigham Young University in the second round of the WNIT in Provo, Utah.
Instead of taking an early lead in the first few minutes like the team’s consistently done throughout the season, the Aztecs actually trailed behind the Cougars and didn’t pass them until a jumper by senior guard Chelsea Hopkins in the 12th minute.
But three minutes later, BYU tied the game and kept the shots coming to maintain a two-point lead going into the half.
Hopkins was leading the game with 11 points while senior guard Courtney Clements followed with nine points. The Aztecs were shooting 34.6 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line.
SDSU came into the second half ready to reclaim the lead and, within the first three minutes, was down by just one.
However, that quickly changed, because of three-straight triples by BYU. The Cougars were in the lead by 10 points and SDSU struggled to answer back.
The Aztecs spent the rest of the second half trailing behind the Cougars, but they never gave up, even when they were down nine points with 10 seconds left in the game. Hopkins, sophomore point guard Ahjalee Harvey and senior forward Gabrielle Clark attempted 3-pointers, but the Aztecs lost the hard-fought battle.
The Aztecs were unable to hold the Cougars to fewer than 59 points. SDSU shot a low 32.3 percent from the field and made 9-of-14 free-throw attempts. The Aztecs shot 29.2 percent from 3-point range.
Overall, BYU played better offensively and defensively against the Aztecs. The Cougars connected on 21 of 48 of their field-goal attempts. BYU had a 41-33 rebounding advantage against SDSU and a 17-15 advantage in points from turnovers.
Hopkins led the team with 17 points, while Clements scored 15 and sophomore forward Khristina Hunter chipped in eight. Sophomore forward Erimma Amarikwa led the team with six rebounds and Hopkins led the team with six assists.
Last Wednesday, the Aztecs beat the University of California, Santa Barbara 69-46 in the first round of the WNIT. During that game, Clements scored a career-high 31 points and the Gauchos couldn’t contain the Aztec offense.
However in Saturday’s game, the Cougars made sure to put a stop to any momentum carried from the UCSB game.
SDSU had an outstanding season, finishing the season 27-7 overall and 15-2 in the MWC with a program-record 27 wins. SDSU was the 2013 MWC regular-season champion for the second-straight year, had a 17-game winning streak and made it to the second round of the WNIT.
