Colorado State’s Vanessa Espinoza was mindful of a poor performance in the Rams’ previous outing and painfully aware of being eliminated in the first round of the past two Mountain West Conference Tournaments.
So when San Diego State drew within six points with 2:31 left in the MWC play-in game Tuesday at the Pepsi Center, the feisty 5-foot-3 guard from Highlands Ranch drained a 3-pointer with the shot clock at three seconds and sank an ensuing free throw en route to a 69-58 victory.
“My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball,” Espinoza said. “It was a great pass and a lucky shot.”
The Rams (9-19) ended their seven-game losing streak and advanced to today’s quarterfinal against top-seeded Brigham Young (23-4) at 6 p.m.
Espinoza shot 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, part of a season-high-tying 23 points, well above her season average of 10.7.
“We had a bad showing at Air Force, and that was in the back of my mind,” she said. “I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
In a talk with fellow seniors Lindsay Thomas and Melissa Dennett, Espinoza recalled: “We said we’re not going to be one-and-done.”
Michelle Strawberry, niece of former baseball star Darryl Strawberry, scored 21 points for the Aztecs, who ended their season 3-24.
It was the first MWC Tournament win for first-year coach Jen Warden.
“I’m proud of our players and the opportunity to live for another day, so to speak,” Warden said, crediting Espinoza’s confidence and spirit.
While Espinoza scored 16 of her points in the second half, 6-4 reserve center Marilyn Moulton of Longmont did the main damage in the first, making all her field goals and free throws for a 10-point boost.
CSU broke away from a 14-14 tie with a fast-break layup and 3-pointer by Espinoza and maintained the gap for a 33-24 halftime lead.
With Espinoza pushing the pace, CSU led by as many as 15 points with 7:18 remaining.
SAN DIEGO STATE (3-24)
Strawberry 8-19 2-3 21, Demus 3-8 2-3 8, Johnson 3-9 0-0 6, Eveland 3-5 0-0 7, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0, Milburn 0-0 0-0 0, Goldblatt 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 7-9 0-0 14. Totals 24-60 6-10 58.
COLORADO STATE (9-19)
Nohr 5-10 5-5 15, Dennett 5-9 1-4 11, Thomas 3-10 0-0 6, Hunter 1-6 2-2 4, Espinoza 7-14 4-5 23, Kramer 0-1 0-0 0, Moulton 3-3 4-4 10. Totals 24-53 16-20 69.
Halftime – Colorado St. 33-24. 3-point goals – San Diego St. 4-19 (Strawberry 3-12, Eveland 1-2, Demus 0-2, Shaw 0-3), Colorado St. 5-7 (Espinoza 5-5, Kramer 0-1, Hunter 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – San Diego St. 34 (Johnson 7), Colorado St. 34 (Dennett 11). Assists – San Diego St. 16 (Demus, Shaw 4), Colorado St. 15 (Nohr, Espinoza 4). Total fouls – San Diego St. 18, Colorado St. 12.
