The San Diego State Aztec women’s basketball team defeated the San Jose State Spartans, 63-51 at Viejas Arena on Saturday, Jan. 20.
This comes after a three-game losing streak for both teams, where the Aztecs (12-8, 3-4 Mountain West) looked to bounce back in front of the home crowd and San Jose (6-12, 1-5 Mountain West) sought to steal a road win.
“Really proud of our effort, I thought we came out the last two games and did a great job defensively,” head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said.
Right off the tip was a made 3-pointer by guard Sydni Summers for the Spartans. Adryana Quezada responded for the Aztecs with a jumper.
The Aztecs came out of the gate pressing up high with a man-defense. Sarah Barcello, the Aztecs reliable shooter, secured 4 early points and forced San Jose to call timeout. SDSU had a 3-point lead, 10-7.
The Spartans put all their bigs on Quezada, looking to prevent her from scoring. She currently leads the Aztecs this season with 14.7 points-per-game – but effectively used her post footwork to secure 6 first-quarter points, giving SDSU a 16-13 lead.
“A big thing the coaches have been telling me when I have big posts like that, is to use my quickness and speed,” Quezada said after the win.
By the end of the first quarter, the Aztecs looked comfortable, going on a 9-0 run to head into the second frame with a 12-point advantage, 25-13.
Khylee Pepe got the Aztecs on the board to start the second. In her last 8 games, Pepe has scored at least 5 points in 7 of them, while averaging a career high in field goal percentage.
SDSU’s defense was hounding the Spartans, who through the first 12 minutes shot 33% from the field compared to the Aztecs 55%.
San Jose went without a field goal for over 4 minutes, which let the Aztecs blossom the lead to 17, up 31-14.
“I think we did a really good job on San Jose’s guards,” said Terry-Hutson of the team’s overall defense. “Those freshmen are really good scorers, we tried to make them uncomfortable, tried to make them go to their weak hands and do different things, and we did a good job with that.”
A fadeaway by Quezada gave the Aztecs the 35-18 lead with two minutes left to play in the half. Meghan Fiso added a jumper of her own, the Spartans unable to stop any of the Aztecs offense.
Entering halftime, the score was 42-22 in the Aztecs favor. Quezada led the way with 13 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The Aztecs stellar defense held the Spartans to just 3-of-12 shooting in the second quarter, and 8-of-26 overall in the first half.
Barcello kept up her shooting from the first half, and made a 3-pointer to give her 9 points at the beginning of the third quarter.
“She (Barcello) does the little things, she does the dirty work. Sarah was also guarding one of the better guards out there today. She’s very consistent,” said Terry-Hutson.
The Spartans couldn’t do much to stop the high-power duo of Quezada and Villalobos, who just kept attacking the rim. Fiso went to the line and converted both free throws.
Barcello made 1-of-2 free throws to give her 10 points, and joined Quezada in double-digit scoring, Aztecs led 52-28 and had everything going for them.
The Spartans went on a 7-0 run at the end of the third quarter, but still, the Aztecs were poised and responded, maintaining the lead at 55-36 heading into the last frame.
The energy of the Spartans had shifted to begin the fourth, with a basket from guard Jyah LoVett and a layup by guard Sofia Kelemeni off a turnover by the Aztecs. Barcello responded with her second 3-pointer of the game, Aztecs led by 16.
Middle to late in the quarter, the game ran at a slower pace, with both teams turning the ball over and taking highly contested shots. The clock favored the home team and that was all the Aztecs had to do – play quick but not rush, and run the clock out.
The Spartans tried to fight back, securing a few baskets and making some free throws, but it wasn’t enough.
Though San Jose won the quarter, they did not win the game.
By the time the buzzer went off, Aztecs secured the win 63-51. Balancing scoring from all fronts and solid defense led the Aztecs to victory.
Quezada finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, yet another double-double.
“I let it come to me, even though that (rebounding) is one of my jobs, I’m not going after them specifically,” she said.
Barcello had 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting, making 2-of-3 3-pointers in the process, to go along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
“She’s a constant for us, and obviously her shooting percentages have gone up since last season,” Terry-Hutson said “(Barcello) isn’t just a shooter, but she’s doing a great job knocking down the open shots.”
Forward Amhyia Moreland finished with 18 points for the Spartans.
The Aztecs head back on the road for a game against Utah State on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Tipoff is at 5 p.m.
