Loss to Long Beach Women May End Aztecs’ Chances for NCAA Berth

San Diego State University’s bid for a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. title and, most likely, a berth in the NCAA tournament fell short--way short--Friday afternoon.

Considering how dominant Cal State Long Beach has been this season, the 49ers’ 94-78 victory over SDSU in the semifinals of the women’s basketball tournament at the Forum was no surprise.

Top-seeded Long Beach (23-5) has won 16 in a row, and barring a breakdown, it should win its 17th consecutive game in today’s championship at 11 a.m. against No. 2 Nevada Las Vegas.

UNLV advanced with a 61-55 victory over No. 3 Cal State Fullerton in the first semifinal game.

The Aztecs fell to 21-10, and Coach Earnest Riggins reiterated that he felt they deserved an NCAA berth, although chances of obtaining one are small.

“Between slim and none,” he said. As for a trip to Amarillo, Tex., for the women’s National Invitation Tournament--SDSU would have to pay its own way--Riggins said thanks but no thanks.

“I don’t call that a prestigious tournament if you have to pay your own way,” he said. “I want to go for the gold.”

This game followed the form of the Aztecs’ first two meetings with the 49ers. In February at Long Beach, the 49ers held a two-point halftime lead, and 11 days ago at San Diego, the Aztecs trailed by only three at the half.

In the early stages Friday, it seemed as though San Diego might actually be in the lead at the half when the Aztecs went up by five points. But with 10:48 remaining, Long Beach tied it at 20. The 49ers began to pull away in the last four minutes and took a 44-36 lead at halftime.

There was little contest after the Aztecs failed to score for more than 3 1/2 minutes at the beginning of the second half, falling behind by 15 points.

Long Beach State Coach Joan Bonvicini wasn’t completely happy with her team’s effort, especially once play became sloppy near the end of the game.

“I wasn’t real pleased with our defense,” she said. “San Diego State is a very aggressive and athletic team. I felt that we coasted at times on defense in the second half. With both Jessica Haynes and Chana Perry in the lineup, they (the Aztecs) didn’t give up. We never lost control of the game, though.”

Said Riggins: “We went to the glass with them, but they had fresh people to put in. I would say their transition game was the difference.”

Also, Long Beach’s scoring depth was simply too much. The 49ers had five players in double figures. Penny Toler, the PCAA co-player of the year with Perry, led Long Beach with 19 points. Traci Waites had 18 and Angie Lee, despite missing most of the first half with foul trouble, had 16.

Perry once again had an outstanding game with 27 points. Brooke Meadows scored 20, Haynes had 16, and Stephanie Lamar added 10.