Up 24 at the half, the Aztecs women hold off the UTSA rally and stay unbeaten
San Diego State beat UTSA 65-56 on Sunday afternoon at Viejas Arena to improve to 3-0. The Aztecs led 37-13 at halftime and by as many as 26, then watched UTSA outscore them 26-10 in the third quarter and pull within five early in the fourth, before freshman Dionne Madjo, who led all Aztecs with 15 points, helped close the game at the free throw line.
SAN DIEGO: For one half on Sunday afternoon, San Diego State made the game look finished. The Aztecs held UTSA to 13 points in the first half, led by as many as 26, and still had to win the game a second time in the fourth quarter, beating the Roadrunners 65-56 at Viejas Arena to improve to 3-0. It was the second game this season in which San Diego State never trailed.
Natalia Martinez set the tone in the opening quarter, scoring eight of her 13 points as the Aztecs took an 18-9 lead. The second quarter was the decisive one. UTSA made just one of its first 12 shots in the quarter, San Diego State put together a 19-2 run, and the Aztecs went into halftime ahead 37-13. The 13 points were the fewest San Diego State have allowed in a half since November of last year, against Cal State San Marcos, and the shooting told the same story: San Diego State hit 60 percent of its first half shots, while UTSA managed only 22 percent.
UTSA come back from 26 down
The Roadrunners opened the second half on a 14-4 run and outscored San Diego State 26-10 in the third quarter, cutting a game that had been 37-13 at the half to a single digit margin, and early in the fourth quarter UTSA pulled within five points. UTSA used its size to outrebound San Diego State 34-24, with a 14-5 edge on the offensive glass that produced 16 second chance points.
Free throws finish it
San Diego State made just three field goals in the fourth quarter, and held the lead at the line instead, going 11 of 14 on free throws in the period. Freshman Dionne Madjo led the Aztecs with 15 points, on 4 of 5 shooting from the field and 7 of 8 at the line, with a team high three steals. Martinez finished with 13 points and made all three of her three point attempts, and Eva DeChent added 10 points. The Aztecs forced 19 turnovers and turned them into 19 points.
The meeting was only the third between the two programs. San Diego State lost the first, 67-65 in Malibu on December 30, 1989, and won the second, 75-52 at home on December 28, 2010, according to the Aztecs' own pregame notes. UTSA, who made the NCAA tournament last season after winning the American tournament championship, fall to 0-2 after a Friday loss at UNLV. San Diego State stays home this week: Colorado visits Viejas Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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