Perry Is Perfect at the Line; Aztecs Advance to WNIT Final

Chana Perry, a senior forward on the San Diego State women’s basketball team, broke both records and Murray State’s spirit Friday in the Aztecs’ 97-81 victory in the semifinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

The Aztecs (25-8) will play for the championship tonight against Oregon, which defeated Toledo, 93-63.

Perry tied a tournament record by converting all 14 of her free throws, also breaking her own Aztec record of 13 in a game. She now has made 23 consecutive free throws in two games, breaking the tournament record of 21.

All that, along with Perry’s game-high 34 points, added up to a lot of worries for Murray State (22-9), which trailed by five at halftime.

“I think (Murray State) got a little rattled because they couldn’t defend her,” SDSU Coach Earnest Riggins said. “She just really dictated a lot of things.”

Her teammates didn’t do too badly either. The Aztecs were 35 of 44 from the free-throw line and shot 62% from the field. Murray State shot just 46%.

Angelica Jackson had 16 points and Demetrice Davis 15 for the Aztecs.

Still, Riggins said, the game was tougher than the score indicated.

“It wasn’t all that easy,” he said. “We weren’t moving the way I wanted early. We came back in the second half and did a good job of running our offense.”

Sheila Smith led Murray State with 26 points, and Michelle Wenning added 19.

The Aztecs defeated Murray State, 81-58, Jan. 2 at Peterson Gym, but Murray State was missing three starters in that game.