Final Stats

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Behind a gusty second-half effort, the LMU women's basketball team earned its first win of the season, 60-53, over San Diego State Sunday afternoon at Viejas Arena.

Cheyanne Wallace finished with a team-high 20 points to go with eight rebounds. Jackie Johnson finished with her third straight double-double, notching 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Leslie Lopez-Wood tallied 10 points, including seven in the second half, while Andee Velasco chipped in eight points and seven rebounds. San Diego State's McKynzie Fort lead all scorers with 22 points.

"It's always nice to get a win on the road," said head coach Charity Elliott. "I wasn't entirely pleased with our effort and focus. I thought San Diego State played really tough, scrappy and outworked us at certain times. I'm really proud of how we rallied and executed down the stretch, it's always good to get that first win under your belt."

LMU (1-3) opened the game with a 6-0 run, scoring five of those points off forced turnovers before San Diego State (1-3) made it a one-possession game at 13-10 with just over two minutes left in the quarter. Wallace connected on three straight buckets in the paint and a Lopez-Wood triple reclaimed the six-point advantage at 20-14.

Johnson tabbed the opening two buckets for LMU to open the second quarter before back-to-back and-1s by Wallace and Raychel Stanley furthered the Lions command to 30-23. Fort willed the Aztecs back into the game, scoring nine of their 15 second-quarter points to close LMU's lead to 32-28 at the half.

San Diego State opened the second frame with a 12-6 run to take the lead for the first time at 40-38 just under four minutes in. However, the lead was short-lived as Andee Velasco connected from beyond-the-arc to reclaim the upper hand as the Lions reeled off a gutsy 9-2 run to close out the quarter and put the scoreboard back in favor of LMU, 47-42.

The Lions held the Aztecs in check in the final quarter, taking a 10-point advantage at 56-46 with just over three minutes left in the game. San Diego State connected on just two of its last 16 field goal attempts as the Lions earned their first win of the season, 60-53.

LMU will return to the court for the annual LMU Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 25-26.