Despite a first-year head coach, new assistant coaches and only one returning starter, San Diego State women’s basketball head coach Stacie Terry had one goal coming into the 2014 Reese’s Mountain West Conference Tournament: to win a championship.
SDSU won its first-round matchup against Air Force Academy, but fell to University of Nevada, Reno in the second round.
The 2013-14 season for the Aztec women’s basketball team starkly contrasted with the two previous seasons, seasons in which they won two regular-season conference championships and 53 games between them. SDSU finished this season with a 13-17 overall record, going 9-9 in the conference, which was good for sixth place.
The season started with an exhibition blowout against California State University San Marcos, which turned out to be misleading. The Aztecs lost their first three games by a combined 11 points before getting smoked by the Associated Press No. 19 University of South Carolina.
An 0-4 start didn’t necessarily represent how SDSU had played, but it wasn’t a good start.
They beat University of California, Santa Barbara on the road for their first win, but it was quickly followed by two more losses against No. 23 Texas A&M University and University of California, Los Angeles.
On Dec. 15, they were sitting at 1-6 overall, but senior center Cierra Warren had established herself as the Aztecs’ go-to player with three performances of 20 or more points.
SDSU strung back-to-back wins over winter break against Miami University and University of California, Riverside to move to 3-6 with conference play in just five days. But, the win againsr UM Ohio came with a cost. Junior forward Erimma Amarikwa sustained an injury that would keep her out for the rest of the season.
Amarikwa happened to be the only returning starter on the team, so at this point it was five brand-new starters for the Aztecs.
After the UC Riverside game, a three-game losing streak followed, including losses to Colorado State University and Boise State University to start conference play 0-2, and 4-9 overall. The loss to Colorado State, however, was a first look at freshman guard Ariell Bostick, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. Bostick would gradually ease into the starting lineup, and Terry said many times that Bostick’s energy was her biggest upside.
Bostick made 13 starts in 23 appearances this season, averaging 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while also leading the team with 2.8 assists per game.
After a blowout win in Viejas Arena against Air Force, the Aztecs traveled to California State University, Fresno to face the then top-seeded Bulldogs. Senior guard Danesha Long hit a jump shot with 4.9 seconds remaining for a 70-69 upset victory, a win in which she scored 18 points, and where Warren finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
After the win against the Bulldogs, SDSU improved to 5-9 overall with a 2-2 mark in the conference. The Aztecs traveled to Las Vegas where despite 18 points from junior forward Khristina Hunter, they couldn’t grab a win against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels.
Two more home games followed, and they turned into two blowout wins against San Jose State University and Utah State University. Against SJSU, Warren went off for 31 points and 14 rebounds to go with sophomore forward Deajanae Scurry’s 13 points and eight rebounds as SDSU won 88-65.
Scurry had 22 points and nine rebounds in the 88-72 victory against Utah State. Warren added 20 points and Bostick had 18 points with six assists.
Riding high on confidence after scoring 88 points in two straight games, the Aztecs traveled to Fort Collins, Colo. to take on the Colorado State University Rams, who were in first place in the conference. Long scored 16 and Bostick had 15, but it wasn’t nearly enough to match the 19 3-pointers by the Rams as SDSU was scorched 95-48.
The Aztecs dropped to 7-11 with a 4-4 conference record.
Another tough game loomed with Boise State (12-8, 7-2 MW at the time) coming into Viejas, but the Aztecs rode hot shooting with four players scoring 10-plus points to beat the Broncos 75-65.
But two straight losses followed, including a nine-point home loss against University of Wyoming, leaving SDSU in an uneasy position at 5-6 in the conference.
The Aztecs took care of Air Force on the road before losing to Utah State on the road, and winning two games in a row against San José State and New Mexico.
After a loss to Fresno State, SDSU held on for a dramatic victory against UNLV 64-63 on senior night, but it was followed by a loss at New Mexico.
Warren led the team averaging 15.4 points per game while also leading the conference in shooting percentage with 54.4. Long averaged 10.7 after getting a lot more playing time later on in the year.
With three starters returning next year in Bostick, Scurry and Hunter, Terry will have high expectations for her team once again.
Photo by Kelly Smiley, staff photographer
