SAN DIEGO – The Aztec women's basketball team (13-13, 7-8) built a big lead early and then held on to beat Fresno State (9-16, 5-9) 77-69 on senior day inside Viejas Arena Saturday afternoon.
Senior Mercedes Staples matched her career-high with 21 points, finishing 8-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from three while fellow senior Mallory Adams finished with her second straight double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds while also dishing out a career-high five assists.
The freshman duo of Khylee-Jade Pepe and Asia Avinger also made big contributions off the bench. Avinger finished with nine points, seven assists and five rebounds and had a team-high plus/minus of +17. Pepe had a career-high 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
Fresno State scored the first five points of the game and then SDSU reeled off a 17-2 run. The Bulldogs pulled within seven (21-14) at the end of the quarter, but the Aztecs responded with another big run, this time an 11-0 one to take a 32-16 lead midway through the second quarter.
Behind big performances from the Cavinder twins, especially Haley who finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, the Bulldogs trailed by just five at the half and were within two points on multiple occasions.
"We did a good job controlling the game," head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said. "Fresno State has two young ladies in the Cavinder twins that are outstanding ballplayers, and we tried to make it tough on them so I'm really proud of our defensive effort. They're good players and they made big time shots, but we were able to come back and answer their runs with shots of our own."
SDSU held an eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter and never let the Bulldogs get closer than four and led by as much as 11.
The Aztecs had 20 assists and committed just eight turnovers while shooting 50.8 percent from the field, the second highest on the year.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Aztecs had a 17-2 run in the first quarter and an 11-0 run in the second quarter.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"They came in four years ago and got behind our vision and they've been a big part of our culture change. They're great kids who do the right thing and they're going to be very successful after their time here at San Diego State. I'm grateful for them coming in and believing in our vision and they'll be lifelong Aztecs." Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson on SDSU's six seniors
THE NOTE
The Aztecs finish their home schedule with a 10-5 record, their most wins and highest winning percentage at home since the 2012-13 season.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs finish the season with three straight road games beginning with Thursday at Colorado State who SDSU beat 73-63 earlier this year.
Aztecs Hold Off Fresno St. on Senior Day 77-69
