San Diego State women’s basketball, on the road at ExtraMile Arena, played against conference matchup Boise State and came out with a loss, 68-59, on Saturday, Jan. 13.
The Aztecs (11-7, 2-3 Mountain West) and Boise State (11-6, 2-2 Mountain West) were looking to establish themselves as conference powerhouses.
Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson rolled out her usual starters, except for Abby Prohaska, who has been out with an injury since the Aztecs’ game against Air Force. In Prohaska’s absence, Alyssa Jackson has been starting in her place.
The Broncos won the tip, and immediately turned the ball over, giving the Aztecs the chance for the first full possession in which Kim Villalobos capitalized and scored a jumper to get the game started.
This game was powered by two high-octane offenses, with both teams knocking down 3-pointers and getting to the rim.
Forward Elodie Lalotte went to the rim for a bucket, giving the Broncos the lead, 5-8, with just under 8 minutes left in the first.
Megan Fiso hit a mid-range jumper, but Lalotte responded with her own. The Broncos ran a 2-3 zone defense, while the Aztecs also utilized the same zone defense.
The Broncos went on a 14-0 to take the lead 24-7. The Aztecs’ offense disappeared through the end of the first, with their scoring drought lasting over 6 minutes.
Khylee Pepe broke their run with an and-1 of her own, missing the free throw. Guard Dani Bayes hit a last-second 3-pointer to give Boise the lead heading into the second quarter, 27-9.
The biggest factor through the first was the Aztecs shooting 9% from 3 on 1-of-11 shots, while the Broncos shot 67% on 4-of-6 shots.
Adryana Quezada got the second quarter started with a jumper — her first points of the game.
Forward Natalie Pasco made another 3-pointer, giving her 10 points halfway through the second quarter.
Meghan Fiso made a sideline jumper, cutting the lead to 2, though the Aztecs were still down 40-17.
Entering a much-needed halftime, the Aztecs trailed 40-19, with Jackson hitting a jumper herself.
In the first half, the Aztecs shot 24% on field goals, and 6% from three. The Broncos shot 47% on field goals, and 47% from three (7-of-15 shooting).
Starting the third frame, Villalobos scored a nice sideline jumper. Lalotte responded to SDSU with a layup plus the foul, making the free throw. Villalobos then went the foul line for another jumper, giving her 8 points in the game.
Jackson made a 3-pointer — the second of the game overall for the Aztecs — cutting the lead to under 20. Pasco immediately responded with a 3-pointer of her own to put the Broncos ahead 46-26.
Sarah Barcello hits a wide-open 3-pointer for the Aztecs. This sparked a 9-2 run with help from Pepe, Quezada, and Fiso, which cut the lead to 13. The Broncos called a timeout.
Jada Lewis hit a 3-pointer near the end of the third quarter, heading into the last frame still down 12, 50-38.
The start of the fourth quarter saw free throws for the Broncos, going 1-of-2 from the line. The Aztecs stepped up their defense, forcing a turnover. Lewis went to the rim for a layup, cutting the deficit to 11.
The Broncos scoring kept coming at pivotal times, with a 3-pointer by guard Mary Kay Naro.
55-42 Broncos with under 6 to play, Villalobos went to the free throw line, and made both shots.
Pasco gets to the free throw line and hits both, giving her 15 points in the game, and the Broncos a 12-point lead.
With under 4 minutes to play, the Aztecs attempted one last push, playing defense far out past the 3-point line. Pepe, wide open, goes for a layup. 58-48 Broncos.
Lalotte, clearly the biggest player on the court, backed down and banked in a floater, pushing the lead back to 12. Barcello — SDSU’s best 3-point shooter in this game — hit her third of the contest, the deficit now under 10.
With Boise leading 60-51, SDSU implemented a full-court press. They forced an outside shot by Pasco, which missed, and the Aztecs secured the rebound. Villalobos then scored to make it a 7-point game.
Villalobos goes to the rim again, this time she scored the layup plus a foul, but missed at the line. Just over a minute left, the Broncos lead 62-55.
Another 3-pointer by Barcello cuts the lead to 6. The Aztecs began to foul and send Boise to the free-throw line. With both free throws going in, the Aztecs turned the ball over on the next possession, essentially sealing the game with less than a minute to go.
The buzzer sounds, and the Aztecs lose 68-59.
Villalobos led SDSU in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting while getting 11 rebounds. Barcello had 12 points on 4-of-7 from the 3-point line.
Pasco led for the Broncos with 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Forward Abby Muse had 2 points, but grabbed 16 rebounds.
The Aztecs head home to play UNLV at Viejas Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 17. Tip-off will be at 11 a.m.
