SDSU Women Beat Stanford

Without leading scorer Tina Hutchinson, who was out with an injured knee and center Toni Wallace, who dislocated her shoulder in practice on Thursday, the San Diego State women’s basketball team beat Stanford, 76-60, at Peterson Gym Friday night.

Now all the Aztecs have to do is wait and see if they’ll be awarded a spot in the 32-team NCAA Tournament.

SDSU finishes the regular season in fourth place in the Western Collegiate Athletic Assn. with a 9-5 record. Overall, the Aztecs are 20-8. The NCAA will announce the playoff teams on Sunday.

“Who knows what the NCAA will do?” SDSU Coach Earnest Riggins said. “I think they’ll pick the best 32 teams in the country. I don’t think there a 32 teams better than us. We’re hoping, praying and keeping our fingers crossed.

“I honestly believe we’ll get a shot.”

A loss to the Cardinal (2-11, 9-17), a team that has lost 10 straight, would have virtually knocked SDSU out of the tournament.

“We knew it was an important game,” forward Paula Perczynski said. “Mr. Riggins said the only way we’d get a (tournament) bid was to do well tonight. He said to go out and enjoy ourselves and have fun.”

Freshman point guard Penny Toler was having a good time. She scored a game-high 27 points and had 4 assists. Up front, the Aztecs didn’t miss Hutchinson and Wallace too much. Dee Dee Duncan scored 16 points, Perczynski had 10 points and 9 rebounds and Heidi Bauer had 6 points and 10 rebounds.