Murguia Rises to the Occasion for the Aztecs : College basketball: She scores 23 points to help SDSU defeat USD, 72-66.

It is hard to imagine Christina Murguia having anything but a good time Wednesday in San Diego State’s 72-66 women’s basketball victory over University of San Diego.

She scored a game-high 23 points and almost single-handedly seized the victory for the Aztecs in front of 1,075 at Peterson Gym.

Murguia, a forward from Castle Park High, made 10 of 17 shots from the field, including four in a row to give SDSU an 11-point lead early in the second half.

Down the stretch, Murguia, a 6-foot sophomore, dominated USD’s Michele Brovelli and Nya Jensen, who tried to defend her under the basket.

Murguia also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

She smiled. She scowled. And she stood anxiously in front of her chair when she was not on the floor. She had a good time, at least for the last 20 minutes, she said.

“The first half I was frustrated, because I was taking (USD forward Vicki) de Jesus and I couldn’t stay with her,” Murguia said. “She was so quick. I got out of it mentally.”

For de Jesus, who finished with six points in 23 minutes, that might be surprising news. But the Aztecs were frustrated by the Toreros, who yielded a 9-0 lead but came back to tie the score, 63-63, with 3:28 left on a pair of free throws by Angie Straub.

That’s when the fun started for Murguia, who posted up on Chris Enger, USD’s 6-4 senior center, and was fouled twice. She made three free throws to make it 66-63. Then, after Enger missed a layup at the other end, Murguia sank a left-handed layup with 58 seconds left to make it 70-64 and ice it for the Aztecs.

“I had my defenders pinned,” Murguia said. “All they had to do was get it to me. And I was confident that I would make the shot.”

With Murguia leading the way, the Aztecs (1-0) dominated inside, outrebounded the Toreros, 46-36, shot better from the floor, 43% to 35%, and improved to 20-1 in the series.

“From the opening moment, they pushed us around,” USD Coach Kathy Marpe said. “We were battling. But you saw how thin we are and how big they are.

“We’re real thin in the post area, and we let Murguia get the ball down low.”

The Aztecs led 9-0 after three minutes. USD missed its first seven shots from the field, while Michelle Suman (17 points) hit two layups and a bank shot for a three-point play that gave her seven of SDSU’s nine.

The Aztecs later went on a 7-0 run and led by as many as 12 points (25-13) with 9:20 left, but twice the Toreros scratched back. They pulled to 31-25 on a three-point shot by Enger (11 points, eight rebounds) from the top of the key and two free throws by Jill Shaver (19 points).

They cut it to four with 1:06 left before halftime on Serena Eiermann’s three-pointer, forcing an SDSU time out. But Murguia answered with a jumper and Suman hit another layup to make it 38-30 Aztecs at halftime.

Aztec Notes

The best news of the night for SDSU was that injured forward Rachelle Johnson will not need surgery to remove a bone in her right foot. An MRI result Tuesday was negative and Johnson, who averaged 27 points and 18 rebounds last year at Mesa College, will be out at least three weeks with tissue trauma. Surgery would have sidelined her for two months. . . . USD Coach Kathy Marpe started two freshmen: forward Michele Brovelli and guard Laura King. King and Brovelli, daughter of San Francisco Coach Jim Brovelli, were rival players a year ago at San Rafael High and San Rafael Terra Linda High.