In a team huddle with 14 seconds left and down by one, San Diego State women’s basketball head coach Stacie Terry prompted sophomore guard Téa Adams to do one thing.
“Go get a bucket,” Terry said.
Adams did just that.
The clock was winding down and with 1.2 seconds left, the 5-foot-9 guard drove to the basket and knocked down the game-winning layup.
The layup set up the Aztecs to make a defensive stop and seal a narrow 69-68 victory over San Jose State on Saturday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
Adams said it was a thrilling experience.
“It was exciting, we were all pumped up,” she said. “It wasn’t supposed to come down to the wire. We did what we had to do at the end.”
Sophomore guard Najé Murray said despite nerves in the final seconds, the team knew the ball needed to be in Adams’ hands.
“Personally, I was really nervous,” she said. “We know as a team, as a program, it’s in the right person’s hands. At that point, no one else should be shooting that shot but (Adams).”
Murray led the Aztecs with 16 points, seven rebounds and a career-high nine assists.
Murray said she enjoyed getting others involved.
“They were in the right spot and they were making shots (today),” she said. “It’s always achievable, but everyone was just on (today). You could feel it. It was fun passing for sure.”
Murray said the career-high performance was due to an extra level of motivation against the Spartans.
“Actually I do (have a vengeance),” she said. “I do in my heart. I feel deeply about them from years ago. A lot of girls on the team I played against in high school.”
SDSU started off strong, and the momentum followed them as they led by as many as 17 in the first quarter.
The Aztecs’ defense contributed to the lead. The pressure applied by Murray and Adams led the two to pick up two steals that led to easy layups and a 16-2 lead, all within a matter of 10 seconds.
The two guards combined to pick up five of SDSU’s eight steals. This led to a SJSU timeout with 5:46 left in the first quarter.
The Spartans creeped their way back and outscored the Aztecs in the second quarter 15-9.
The score was 35-30 at halftime.
The Spartans were gradually cutting into the Aztecs’ lead in the second half .
Aside from a banked in 3-pointer by SJSU junior guard Analyss Benally with 16 seconds left that gave the Spartans a 68-67 lead, the Aztecs led from start to finish.
Freshman guards Mallory Adams and Sophia Ramos each scored in double figures.
Mallory Adams recorded her seventh double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Ramos collected 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Ramos got elbowed in the final moments of the game and was helped off the floor with blood coming down her eye.
She took a short break, got bandaged up and returned for SDSU’s final offensive possession.
Terry said the young players like Ramos are impacting the program and the culture at SDSU.
‘“Right now, we are going through the growing pains of starting two freshmen and two sophomores,” Terry said. “(Ramos) is literally bleeding from her eye and they just bandaged her up and she’s like ‘I’m ready, I’m ready.’ That’s kind of the culture of this team — they’re just tough.”’
SDSU will host New Mexico on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at Viejas Arena.
