The San Diego State women’s basketball team fell to an overall record of 7-11 and a Mountain West Conference record of 4-4 on Saturday after the MWC-leading Colorado State University Rams defeated the Aztecs by a final score of 95-48.
The Aztecs shot 28.8 percent from the field in a game they never seemed to be in control of. The Rams outscored the Aztecs 48-22 in the second half, setting themselves up for a victory at home. CSU opened the second half with a 12-point run on the Aztecs. SDSU senior center Cierra Warren created a turnover on CSU’s first second-half possession, but missed layups and two Aztec turnovers allowed the Rams to keep forward momentum early in the period. The Rams then expanded upon their already-large lead and never looked back.
In addition to shooting 55.6 percent from the field, the Rams also effectively capitalized on three-point opportunities, converting 19 of 35 shots from beyond the three-point line. CSU was able to exploit the Aztecs’ defense that had played well during its last four games.
Senior guard Danesha Long led the Aztecs in scoring with 16 points and added five rebounds in her 35 minutes on the court. Freshman guard Ariell Bostick followed up last week’s impressive performance quite nicely, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes of playing time. Sophomore forward Deajanae Scurry led the Aztecs in rebounds with six and also in assists with four.
Despite the Aztecs finding some offensive success in the first few minutes of play, the Rams’ defense quickly tightened up and forced a whopping 24 Aztec turnovers throughout the game, half of which were steals. The Aztecs trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half.
SDSU fought hard to contain the high-powered offense of CSU, but was unable to shut down junior guard AJ Newton, who posted 14 points in the first half and led the team with 23 by the end of the game. Newton also added three rebounds and six assists to her total performance in 27 minutes of playing time.
The Aztecs return to Viejas Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 5 to defend home court against MWC rival Boise State University. The Broncos currently sit in second place in the conference with a 12-8 overall record and 7-2 in the MWC after defeating the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels by 30 points on Saturday.
SDSU will need to be on its defensive A-game if it wants a shot at taking down Boise State. The Broncos have won six straight games and will look to sweep the Aztecs in the season series. The last time the two teams met in Idaho on Jan. 8, the Broncos edged the Aztecs by a final score of 73-64. The second contest should be just as exciting, as both teams will be fired up to establish themselves in the conference heading into the last eight games of the season.
Photo by Wesley Beights, Staff Photographer
