The San Diego State women’s basketball team took down Air Force, 73-63, at Viejas Arena as the Aztecs’ dominant final quarter was too much for the Falcons.
The Aztecs (18-10, 9-6 Mountain West) moved up to fifth in the Mountain West standings as they recorded their fifth straight home victory in conference play. The win tied the regular season series with Air Force, redeeming a tough 71-63 overtime loss at Clune Arena on Jan. 3.
SDSU saw themselves down starting the fourth quarter, 53-47, unable to gain a grip on the game as the Falcons outscored them in each of the first three quarters. But the fourth quarter belonged to the Aztecs as they got it done on both sides of the court, outscoring Air Force, 26-10, in the final period.
Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson spoke on the adjustments her squad made defensively that led to the dominating finish to the game.
“They just really bought into what we were trying to do defensively,” Terry-Hutson said. “We did a good job changing up our defenses between zone and man, switching and not switching. Just trying to keep them guessing on what we were doing.”
Aztec guard Jada Lewis led the team in points with 21 on the night, hitting four 3-pointers and going a perfect 7 for 7 on the charity stripe.
Other contributions came from Aztec forward Kim Villalobos, recording her sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Aztec guard Jazlen Green added an impressive 13 points and seven rebounds to seal the victory.
Green commented on her mindset coming into the game and the aggressive plays that helped seal the victory for the Aztecs.
“I think my role on the team is to be me,” Green said. “No matter when I come into the game, just do what I know I’m capable of doing. Showing up in all those categories. Defensively, offensively, whatever it is, whatever coach Stacie and my team matter need me to be.”
“I just plan to be aggressive and make an effort,” Green said. “Luckily, that brought me to the line, but being aggressive from the start, being able to get those and ones and being in a position to get rebounds.”
Free throws were huge for the Aztecs as they shot 19 of 27 on the line with 14 of those attempts coming in the fourth quarter where they made 10. The Aztecs won the battle on the line as they attempted 18 more free throws than the Falcons.
Terry-Hutson spoke on the importance of free throw shooting and getting into the paint for the Aztecs when facing off against the Falcons.
“That was the difference-maker,” Terry-Hutson said. “It was reversed when we played at Air Force. They made more free throws than we even attempted up there. So it was an emphasis for us to get to the paint.”
Aztecs head on the road to Albuquerque to face the New Mexico Lobos at The Pit on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.
