San Diego State women’s basketball snapped a three-game losing streak after defeating Colorado State, 59-49, on Dec. 4 at Viejas Arena.
Aztecs head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said it was a difficult win to start Mountain West Conference action.
“I thought it was a hard fought win against a good Colorado State team,” Terry-Hutson said. “A good way to open up conference play. I am really impressed with the team ball that we played offensively and defensively.”
Right from the start, SDSU (4-5, 1-0 MWC) was able to click and forget about what happened the past three games.
In the first 4:12 of the game, SDSU went on an 11-0 run and did not allow the Rams (5-4, 0-1 MWC) to score a field goal until 1:53 left in the first quarter.
The Aztecs finished the quarter leading 28-12. The 28 points were a season-high for most points scored in a quarter.
Terry-Hutson said the opening quarter helped the team focus on the game and learn from the past few games.
“That first quarter was a thing of beauty,” Terry-Hutson said. “It was a great confidence booster for them. We have been working really hard in practice and to see the work pay off for them will only fuel the fire.”
Junior guard Téa Adams led SDSU with eight points through the first quarter and was one of three Aztecs to finish the game with 15 points.
Terry-Hutson said she wanted Adams, who has scored 31 points in the past two games, to increase her touches and shots.
“I asked her to step up and score the ball than she’s had in past years,” Terry-Hutson said. “I thought she did a great job in taking good shots and not forcing anything.”
The other two Aztecs to score 15 points apiece were sophomore guard Sophia Ramos and senior guard Taylor Kalmer.
The three Aztecs in double figures was a result of abnormal defense from the Rams.
“Usually, Colorado State is in a conservative 2-3 zone (defense) and they didn’t hit us with that, so we came out knowing this is where we are going to have to attack them,” Adams said. “(It was) so different. I have only seen that 2-3 zone, but we capitalized on the man defense.”
Another thing SDSU had to control was the rebounding, which it won 40-31.
Terry-Hutson noticed when the Scarlet and Black win the rebounding advantage, they win games. She also realized when they lose the rebounding advantage, they lose games.
The seventh-year head coach said rebounding is something the team will continue to work on in practice.
“Rebounding has been an Achilles’ heel for us,” Terry-Hutson said. “We’ve identified that as a weakness for us as something we need to improve on. Often times, when you win the boards, you win the game.”
Coming into the game, rebounding was a focal point in increasing the amount of possessions on the offensive glass, which SDSU won 10-6.
Senior forward Baylee Vanderdoes played a big part in that, collecting a game-high nine rebounds with three offensive boards.
“It was really important and one of our emphasis was to use the shot clock,” Vanderdoes said. “With that, it needed offensive rebounds.”
Vanderdoes said it was crucial to pull down rebounds, especially without sophomore forward Mallory Adams.
“(It was) big,” Vanderdoes said. “She is really good at rebounding. But, we all knew it was something we needed to pick up.”
The Aztecs will head to San Jose State to take on the Spartans on Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.
