Late Free Throw Helps Creighton Topple San Diego State : Women’s basketball: Aztecs miss a chance to pull into a tie for Western Athletic Conference lead.

Deep breath.

Creighton’s Shannon Struby stepped to the free-throw line with two seconds left in a tied game Thursday night. About two dozen rowdies had emptied out of the bleachers at San Diego State’s Peterson Gym and positioned themselves behind the basket, waving their arms and shouting furiously.

Struby dribbled, aimed and fired. The ball hit the front of the rim, hit the back of the rim and bounced away.

She lined up again. Dribble, aim, fire . . .

Swish.

Final: Creighton 76, San Diego State 75.

Deep breath.

With one shot, the Aztec women’s basketball team--and a season-high crowd of 1,352--watched a chances to tie for first place in the Western Athletic Conference evaporate.

With one shot, Aztec anticipation turned to Aztec agony. Since the WAC formed a women’s league last season, Creighton (20-3, 9-1) has played the role of SDSU’s nemesis. The Lady Jays are the only conference team the Aztecs (16-8, 8-3) have never defeated.

Since losing by nine Feb. 1 at Creighton, the Aztecs had waited for this night. After all, they had turned the ball over 32 times in the team’s first meeting this season, and the Aztecs that couldn’t happen again.

They were right. They only had 16 turnovers. But Creighton won for the fifth consecutive time.

“Coulda, woulda, shoulda, but didn’t,” SDSU Coach Beth Burns said. “That’s the bottom line.”

The Aztecs fought back from a nine-point halftime deficit and took their first second-half lead with 5:01 left, when Kieishsha Garnes sank a turnaround jumper from about three feet out to make it 64-63.

After that, the lead changed hands five more times. And there were five second-half ties.

SDSU called time during the last tie, at 75, with 39 seconds left. Eight seconds later, freshman guard Falisha Wright put up a shot from three-point range, deep in the left corner, and it hit the side of the backboard.

Creighton grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 22 seconds left.

“I told them, ‘Stay on them, stay on them, stay on them,’ ” Burns said. “I wanted to force a perimeter shot.”

But the Jays then worked the ball inside to Struby, who was fouled by SDSU freshman forward Michelle Suman with two seconds left.

“It was a freshman mistake,” Burns said. “You’ve got to learn from them.”

The Aztecs certainly won’t forget. There were several spots where they could have won this one, but a few lapses cost them.

They led early, 4-0, but watched Creighton score the next seven points. During that run, the Aztecs went 6:38 without a field goal, during which the Jays got out to an 11-4 lead.

And Garnes, last year’s WAC player of the year who finished with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, scored SDSU’s first five points but then went 10:37 without a point.

And the Aztecs didn’t slow down Creighton’s shooting as much as they needed to. The Jays made nine of 24 three-point attempts, including six of 10 from Kathy Halligan, who led Creighton with 22 points.

But if not for Garnes and Wright (21 points), the Aztecs wouldn’t have even been in this one.

“Falisha was tremendous; Kieishsha was tremendous,” Burns said. “They wanted this game in the worst way.”

Now, they will have to wait for March when, chances are, they will get Creighton again in the WAC tournament.

“I’ll go into that feeling the same way I did tonight and the same way I did (Wednesday),” Garnes said.

“Feeling confident.”