Aztecs Surprise Las Vegas, 70-68

During her career at Alta Loma High School, Shelda Arceneaux led her team to three Southern Section championships in four seasons. When a clutch play was needed, Arceneaux was always there.

Friday night, Arceneaux’s instincts took her to the right place again when she scored on a rebound basket with two seconds left to lift San Diego State to a stunning 70-68 victory over the University of Nevada Las Vegas in an NCAA Midwest Regional game at the Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus.

The Aztecs will meet No. 4 Louisiana Tech at Monroe, La., next Thursday. Louisiana Tech defeated Illinois State, 81-57.

After UNLV’s Donya Monroe tied the score at 68-68 with 24 seconds remaining, the Aztecs moved the ball down the floor and worked for a last shot.

With four seconds left, forward Dee Dee Duncan, who had silenced the partisan crowd of 3,754 on several occasions with jump shots from long range, launched another from about 18 feet, just to the left of the foul line.

This time, the ball fell about two feet short and Arceneaux, coming from the opposite side of the lane, grabbed it out of the air, turned to the basket, just eluding the outstretched hand of Monroe. The ball kissed the glass and dropped through the net. Las Vegas’ desperation pass was intercepted at the buzzer.

“I don’t really know what happened,” said Arceneaux, a sophomore who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. “Did she (Duncan) take a shot? Ask coach, I don’t know.”

Coach Earnest Riggins, whose 19th-ranked team improved its record to 21-8, was effusive in his praise of his team and especially, Arceneaux.

“We’ve got a walking hospital out there,” he said, referring to the loss of Tina Hutchinson, the nation’s second-leading scorer last year--out with a knee injury--and center Toni Wallace, who had 8 points and 7 rebounds despite a separated shoulder. “The kids gave it everything they had. I just told Shelda before the game that she’d have to do it, and she was ready to play from the introductions on.”

Another Aztec who was ready to play was freshman Penny Toler, who had a game-high 22 points.

Las Vegas (26-5), the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. champion, had 30 turnovers. The 16th-ranked Lady Rebels were hurt by the absence of guard Misty Thomas, who underwent knee surgery Tuesday. But as Monroe, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, pointed out, it was Arceneaux’s reaction which made the difference.

“Their shots had been bouncing long, so when it went up I moved away from the basket a little,” she said. “I was sure it was going to hit something. Give that girl credit. She got that ball and went right up with it. I couldn’t get back in time.”