The San Diego State women’s basketball team improved to a 9-13 overall record and 6-6 in the Mountain West Conference after handling business on the road Saturday against the Air Force Academy Falcons, winning 77-66.
The Aztecs outscored the Falcons 44-31 in the second half to earn their first win in the last three games. SDSU finished on an impressive 18-5 scoring run that ultimately proved too much to handle for Air Force. After a Falcons 3-point shot, senior guard Danesha Long scored on back-to-back Aztec possessions. Air Force made it a 3-point game after a 3-point shot with 2 minutes 6 seconds left, but SDSU would not back down, outscoring the Falcons 10-2 over the remaining course of the game. Junior forward Khristina Hunter sank two free throws with less than 30 seconds left to solidify the Aztecs’ victory.
SDSU senior center Cierra Warren led the team in scoring, shooting 75 percent from the field and posting 20 points in 25 minutes of play. Long also heavily contributed to offense, scoring 18 points and adding 11 rebounds in a team-high 37 minutes on the court.
Although the Aztecs committed more turnovers than Air Force, the Falcons were unable to generate much offense in the game and shot just 42.4 percent from the field. Senior guard Camille Thompson led the team in scoring with 16 points in 37 minutes of playing time.
A solid defensive performance was just what the Aztecs needed after losing their last two contests against the University of Wyoming and the University of Nevada, Reno. Freshman point guard Ariell Bostick didn’t score on any shots from the field, but had two steals and two points off free throws. Warren got her only steal of the game at the beginning of the second half, helping the Aztec defense force a total of 13 Falcon turnovers.
But the Aztecs didn’t enjoy big scoring runs the entire game. In the first half, SDSU shot just 36.1 percent from the field while the Falcons scored on 15 of-29 shots to post a 51.7 first-half shooting percentage. The Aztecs’ defense was able to pressure Air Force’s offense enough to force long scoring droughts early in the first half. However, the Falcons took their first lead of the game nearly 16 minutes in. SDSU faced a two-point deficit at halftime.
Looking forward, the Aztecs will continue road play on Feb. 19 when they travel to Utah to battle the Aggies of Utah State University. Last time the two teams faced off, the Aztecs won by 16 points. With just six games left on the season, SDSU is in a critical spot to get another road win this Wednesday.
Photo by Kristian Carreon, staff photographer
