SAN DIEGO, Calif. ? Nov. 20 ? Southern Utah women's basketball suffered its third loss this season with an 86-52 defeat at San Diego State on Tuesday night. The loss drops the Thunderbirds to 1-3 on the year while the Aztecs improve to 3-0.
San Diego State capitalized on 36 SUU turnovers during the game and collected a total of 47 points from the miscues. Turnovers have plagued the Thunderbirds throughout the young season with the team averaging 25.5 per game.
Southern Utah turnovers against the Aztecs looked to be due to inexperience as the three freshmen guards for the Thunderbirds totaled 22 turnovers, equaling almost two-thirds of the giveaways.
"This game was really a tale of two halves," head coach Steve Hodson said after the game. "They were in full-court pressure the entire game, but we were able to settle in a little bit in the second half and make a bit of a run. I was really pleased with our effort over the final 20 minutes."
The Aztecs got out to a quick start on their home floor and built a 12-0 advantage four minutes into the contest. Southern Utah found its first basket at the 16:21 mark as Erin Heuett recorded a steal and fed Challis Pascucci for a transition lay-up.
However, points proved to be sparse for Southern Utah in the first 20 minutes with San Diego State taking a 43-18 lead into the break. The large deficit was largely due to 19 first-half turnovers by SUU and only a 31-percent clip from the field.
Southern Utah came out strong in the second half and trimmed the SDSU lead to its smallest of 17 (59-42) with nine minutes remaining in the half, but were not able to get any closer. San Diego State pulled away once again in the closing minutes with the 86-52 win.
Anne Westwood led the Thunderbirds with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Heuett joined Westwood in double figures with 11 points and filled out the box score with five rebounds and four assists. The Thunderbirds once again out rebounded their opponent with a 36-33 advantage and have now outrebounded the opposition in three of their four outings.
Southern Utah was held without a 3-point field goal during the night as the team shot 0-for-3 from behind the arc to snap the fourth-longest streak in the nation at 321 games with a bucket from long range.
The Thunderbirds will remain on the road in San Diego as the team will face the Toreros of San Diego on Friday, Nov. 23. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. pacific time.
