SDSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: LAST MINUTE LAYUP GIVES RAMS WIN OVER AZTECS IN HEARTBREAKER

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Story and photos by Liz Alper

January 3, 2017 (San Diego) - The lady Aztecs kickstarted the new year with a conference matchup against Colorado State.  The lady Rams come into Viejas with a 9-4 record, third in the Mountain West.

Right off the bat, the Rams attacked hard.  And it wasn’t their strong international core doing the work; redshirt freshman guard Grace Colaivalu and senior guard Hannah Tvrdy dominated the Aztecs on turnovers throughout the first quarter.  Luckily, the three-point duo of senior guards Lexy Thorderson and Geena Gomez and of course, McKynzie Fort, the current Aztec leader in points, helped the Aztecs work their way up and tie the game up, with Gomez hitting the go-ahead basket and a buzzer beater put the Aztecs up 20-15 after one.

The second quarter was the Najé Murray show.  The freshman guard hit a three and a smooth layup to open the quarter and increase the SDSU lead.  She posted eight points to Fort’s nine, but the Rams posted a late-half rally that the Aztecs barely escaped, leading 33-30 going into the locker room.

The Aztecs picked up where they left off in the third, with Fort hitting double digits in points and Thorderson hitting a big three to put the red and black up by 10.  Fort struck for six points in the third, but SDSU still held on by a thin rope, leading 45-41 after three.

Ten more minutes remained and the Aztecs held onto a three point lead. Tvrdy brought the Rams to within one on a breakaway steal, which prompted a timeout.  After that, it turned into a boxing match:  Fort vs. Tvrdy.  Tvrdy hit the game-tying and go-ahead threes for the Rams, while Fort just tried to keep the Aztecs in it.  Colaivalu may have led in scoring for the Rams with 22 points, but Tvrdy was quickly catching up, racking up 16 points and putting the Rams up by four on a 6-0 run.  But Gomez decided enough was enough and put the Aztecs back in it with a huge three. Make that two huge threes; the Surf City native tied the game on just two shots from downtown.  But she was no match for Colaivalu’s 25th point to give Colorado State the lead again.  Fort kept the Aztecs afloat with a minute left, but an offensive foul and a defensive foul on the Rams turned out to be the Aztecs’ saving grace.  Fort hit a free throw to tie the game at 63 with eight seconds left.  But Colaivalu came through, giving the Rams the 65-63 win with a second left on the clock to give her a game-high 29 points. Fort was the player of the game with 17 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, but the Aztecs’ losing streak against Colorado State extends to 10.

“I thought we played a good game,” head coach Stacie Terry said after the game. “a very good game.  Listen, Colorado State’s a very good team…we were prepared for a battle…we put ourselves in a position to win and that’s the one thing I asked our kids to do and we did that.  Just didn’t go our way.  But I thought we fought.”

“It’s a pretty tough loss,” Fort said. “I’m proud of my team for the fight that they gave.”

Next up for the lady Aztecs is a trip to San Jose State next Wednesday. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.

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