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

SAN DIEGO — 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.