Win number 300 was easy.
Getting to 300 wins, perhaps, not quite that easy. Hard work. Dedication to her craft. Passion. Demanding excellence. All of the things that have made Beth Burns one of the best coaches in San Diego State history.
Now she’s in the history books. Burns earned her 300th-career victory Wednesday night as her Aztec women’s basketball team blew out UNLV, 70-41, at Viejas Arena.
“To me, getting to this milestone is all about the people along the way who helped me get here,” said Burns, whose 18 years in the college coaching ranks includes directing SDSU for 13 seasons. “All of the coaches and support personnel who have put in so much time and so much hard work. And all of the players, too.”
Many of her former players contacted her prior to Wednesday night’s game with texts and e-mails wishing her luck and support. Then her current players orchestrated the celebration.
SDSU used runs of 13-0, 11-0 and then finally 15-0 to close out the first half, dominating UNLV at both ends of the court and wrapping up the contest with a 49-17 halftime lead. All that remained was for the final 20 minutes to tick away as the Aztecs improved to 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the Mountain West Conference.
Senior guard Jene Morris scored 18 points, handed out six assists and came up with four steals. Junior power forward Jessika Bradley scored 13 (on 5-for-5 shooting), grabbed seven boards and blocked six shots as SDSU beat the Lady Rebels (7-10, 0-3) for the seventh consecutive time.
The win also was the Aztecs’ seventh-straight overall, giving them their longest winning streak since 1997. They’ll go for their eighth in a row — and Burns’ 301st win — Saturday at No. 22-ranked TCU.
“You know me, I’ll enjoy this for a very short while, and then it will be back to work,” Burns said. “I have to immediately get working on trying to get us that next win.”
Burns posted four 20-win seasons in eight years during her first tour of duty with SDSU from 1989 through 1998. After spending five years as head coach at Ohio State and two years as an assistant at Stanford, she returned to the Montezuma Mesa in 2006.
Starting from scratch for a second time, Burns won only three games her first season back and saw her team go 0-16 in conference play. She won 12 games her second season, then 18 in her third while leading the Aztecs to a surprise berth in the MWC Tournament Championship Game.
Last season, things really took off as SDSU finished 24-8, won a share of the conference regular-season title, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament where it upset De Paul in a first-round game.
This season, the ceiling may be even higher. After a sluggish 4-4 start, the Aztecs have rolled impressively to their seven consecutive victories, winning by an average of nearly 15 points per game. Burns’ hallmark — defense — has played a starring role during the run as SDSU has limited its opponents to just 36-percent shooting.
UNLV fared no better Wednesday night, scoring just six field goals in the first half and making just one basket over the final nine minutes prior to intermission while the Aztecs were in the midst of a remarkable 32-4 run.
Morris, the reigning Mountain West Conference Player of the Week, hit back-to-back three’s during the explosion, and junior guard Coco Davis made a pair from the arc as well. Bradley blocked everything the Lady Rebels tossed up on the interior, and with senior point guard Quenese Davis (five assists) racing the ball down the other way, SDSU scored seemingly at will in transition.
The first-half display was Beth Burns basketball at its finest, triggering offense with defense, racing around the court tirelessly to apply pressure, and finishing off plays with solid execution at the offensive end.
“Getting to 300 wins is nice, but hopefully there will be a lot more,” Burns said. “Maybe someday we’ll get to 400 or 500. I know we’ll give it our best shot to get there.”
First, though, will be the attempt to reach number 301. TCU (12-4, 2-1) lost Wednesday night to Wyoming in Laramie, but nevertheless is still the only ranked team in the conference.
It’s a near certainty that the Lady Frogs will not allow things on Saturday (10 a.m. Pacific time) to be quite as easy for the Aztecs.
– Ello
