SDSU Women’s Tournament : Aztecs Beat Temple to Win Shootout

With little time to spare, the San Diego State women’s basketball team appears ready for Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. play.

The Aztecs concluded their non-conference schedule Saturday night by defeating Temple, 66-61, in the championship of the Roos-Coors Shootout at the Sports Arena.

“We have persevered and come a long way,” said Earnest Riggins, the SDSU coach. “We’ll have a lot of close games because of our youth. As long as we can stay close to people, we’ll win ballgames.”

SDSU (6-5) beat Temple (5-2) by scoring the final eight points of the game.

After Temple led, 61-58, Jessica Haynes pulled the Aztecs within one point with 2:11 to play. The Aztecs took the lead for good, 62-61, as Brooke Meadows scored off an assist from Shelda Arceneaux with 1:09 remaining.

Arceneaux, the tournament’s most valuable player, put away the game with two field goals down the stretch. She drove for a fullcourt layup with 26 seconds to play and scored off a Haynes assist as time expired.

Theresa Govens of Temple tied Arceneaux for scoring honors with 20 points. Haynes had 16 rebounds and Arceneaux 14 as SDSU had a 46-43 rebounding edge.

After the Aztecs trailed at halftime, 34-28, they tied the game, 36-36, on a Haynes basket with 17:25 remaining. SDSU eventually took a 52-46 lead, on a Lisa Stevens layup with 10 minutes remaining.

Temple finally tied it, 54-54, on a Govens layup with 7:08 to play. Govens gave Temple its last lead, 61-58, on a three-point play with 2:25 remaining.

In the consolation game, Idaho beat New Mexico State, 68-59, as Mary Raese scored a game-high 24 points. Sharon Haynes scored 18 for New Mexico State.

Joining Arceneaux on the all-tournament team were Jessica Haynes, Addie Jackson and Govens of Temple, Raese and Sharon Haynes.

The Aztecs open PCAA play at 7:30 Friday night at Cal State Fullerton.