Women’s basketball falls short in Field Trip Day loss to No. 25 UNLV

Kim Villalobos gave an outstanding performance as she set a personal career-high in blocks

by Abigail Segoviano, Sports Writer • January 18, 2024

San Diego State forward Kim Villalobos elevates for a shot over UNLV guard Kiara Jackson on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at Viejas Arena. Villalobos recorded her fourth double-double in the last five games in Aztecs’ 67-60 loss.

The San Diego State women’s basketball team hosted the No. 25 ranked team, UNLV, on Wednesday morning at Viejas Arena.

The atmosphere was loud as the Aztecs held a field trip day in which schools around San Diego came to Viejas Arena to watch the team play.

“I think it’s the best kind of environment we want to play in,” said forward Kim Villalobos. “It’s fun having everyone here. The other team couldn’t hear what plays they wanted to run, so that’s definitely a pro for us. We love it when they’re out here.”

The Aztecs lost against the Lady Rebels 67-60. Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson explained the breakdown of the outcome of the game.

“We’re not connected offensively. I am not happy with the nine assists, that needs to be higher,” Terry-Hutson said. “We’re taking care of the ball… the con of that is we’re doing too much one-on-one. We’ve got to go back and share the ball a little more. When we are doing that our offense is really kicking, going inside-out. We’re struggling in the 3-point line right now, so that’s something that we need to really pay attention to.”

Besides the loss, Villalobos had a magnificent performance with her fourth double-double in the last five games. She ended with 15 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and broke a personal record of 4 blocks.

“(Kim) is our Swiss Army Knife, she does so much for us, she’s working hard on her shot and being a better shooter,” Terry-Hutson said. “She’s perfected her jump shot from the right elbow so we’ve got to get her confident on other areas of the floor.”

Terry-Hutson and Villalobos mentioned the advantages and disadvantages against the Rebels.

“I thought our guards did a great job of taking out their three-point shooters, but we’ve got to score” Terry-Hutson said. “I need Jada (Lewis) to score more, I need Abby (Prohaska) to score more, I need Sara (Barcello) to score more.”

“I think the whole team can agree that our first half is how we want to play for the rest of the games we’re gonna play together,” Villalobos said.

At the end of the game, the Aztecs statistics were 20 of 61 in field goals, 3 of 17 in 3-pointers and 17 of 19 in free throws.

Villalobos wants to change things up before Saturday’s home game.

“Our offense- (we’re) still working on that,” she said. “(We) can always work on defense and just continue to build on connecting as a team for sure.”

The Aztecs play at home on Saturday, Jan. 20 against San Jose State at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FS1.

About the Contributors

Abigail Segoviano, Staff Writer

Originally from Richmond, California, Abigail Segoviano is a second-year student, majoring in Journalism with a minor in Spanish. This is Abigail’s second year at the Daily Aztec where she got the opportunity to expand her writing skills as a journalist. As a staff writer last year she had the opportunity to mainly cover the entire season of women’s volleyball and also covered a couple of games for women’s basketball. This year her main focus is to branch out and write for different sports. Additionally to get involved in other sections such as Multimedia and Mundo Azteca. Abigail is the Vice President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (SDSU Chapter). Abigail received an award from The Daily Aztec: “Consistent Contributor.” In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching sports, listening to music, and going on adventures with friends.

Natali Gonzalez, '23-24 Arts & Culture Editor

Natali Gonzalez is an MA student in Rhetoric and Writing Studies. Originally from Ogden, Utah, she got her BA in English Teaching from Weber State University. While there, she worked as a research assistant examining the role of technology in K-12 education. She also worked for Upward Bound as an instructor and tutor. Now, at SDSU, she looks forward to learning about professional writing alongside increasing her knowledge about teaching practices. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys being outdoors, especially exploring the San Diego beaches and going on hikes, and doing yoga and meditation.