Aztecs Bounce Back to Defeat Bruins, 77-68

All it took was a little pep talk from her teammates for San Diego State forward Tina Hutchinson to return to her All-American form.

The Aztec sophomore, who injured her left knee in a Dec. 15 loss to Southern Illinois, played her finest game since the injury Saturday night, scoring 28 points and leading the 13th-ranked Aztecs to a 77-68 Western Collegiate Athletic Assn. victory over UCLA in Peterson Gym.

“I was talking to my teammates, and they were saying that I haven’t bee playing anything like I was before (the injury),” said Hutchinson, who also collected six steals despite still playing with a brace on her knee.

“They depend on me a lot, and I depend on them. I am at least 50% of the team, and they are the other 50%. We complement each other. All I had to do was get back into the flow.”

After a 12-point first-half effort, Hutchinson really began to move after the break, leading SDSU (3-1 in conference, 14-4 overall) back from a 30-29 halftime defecit.

After Shelda Arceneaux scored the first basket of the second half on a layin, Hutchinson went to work.

She connected on four long jumpers and scored on a layin over the next six minutes, helping the Aztecs to a 47-38 lead with 12:48 remaining. UCLA (0-2, 9-6) never threatened after that.

“It’s great to see Tina back shooting and moving like that,” Aztec Coach Earnest Riggins said. “Coming back from the surgery has been more a mental thing than anything else.

“Just the other day she was asking me if she could take the brace off. I think her confidence is coming back.”

Hutchinson’s outburst not only helped SDSU overcome a 51-39 deficit in rebounding, but also came at a bad time for the Bruins, who played a strong first half before succumbing.

“We had a chance to widen the margin before halftime, but we made some mistakes and let them gain some momentum,” said UCLA Coach Billie Moore. “In the second half, they went through a stretch where they were throwing them in from everywhere. Normally, you’ll tell your team to go ahead and let them shoot from there.”

Normally, that is, unless it’s Hutchinson who’s putting them up.

“Coach Riggins saw that I had my confidence back and my knee felt a lot better tonight,” Hutchinson said.

Her 13 of 22 shooting performance was made more remarkable by the fact that her knee popped out of joint in the second half.

“At the beginning of the second half, it popped out, but it didn’t hurt,” Hutchinson said. “Then it popped back in. I made up my mind that I had to play with it.”

Along with the play of Hutchinson, SDSU received a boost from point guard Renee Overton, who came off the bench in the second half to control the Aztec offense.

“Renee came in and settled us down tonight,” Riggins said. “It really helps out to get that until (freshman) Penny (Toler) starts playing basic basketball.

“We don’t want her (Toler) putting the ball on the floor so much. Renee came in and found the open people and moved the ball for us. She doesn’t speak a lot, but she speaks with her performance.”

Both teams had their moments in a tight first half. Thanks to two baskets and two assists from Hutchinson, SDSU reeled off eight straight points to take a 16-7 lead, seven minutes into the game.

Over the next four minutes, however, the Bruins scored eight straight, pulling to within 16-15 on Angel Hardy’s jumper from the side with 9:30 remaining.

Then Jackie Joyner went to work. The Bruin senior, who led the visitors with 20 points, scored seven consecutive points, including a layin for her 1,000th-career point, to help UCLA to its biggest advantage of the half, 27-22.

After Arceneaux scored twice inside for the Aztecs, Anne Dean hit a 15-foot jumper to give UCLA a 30-29 lead at the half.