The San Diego State women’s basketball team opened its 2024-25 season with a 76-48 win against California State University, San Marcos on Monday, Nov. 4 at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs controlled the game from start to end. It was a lot of first times for many of the Scarlet and Black players.
Guard Naomi Panganiban became the first freshman to be a starter in the lineup on a season opener since 2018.
Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson talked about Panganiban’s starting position, as she had a total of five points.
“She just does a great job of doing the little things,” Terry-Hutson said. “She’s really talented. As far as sharing the ball, passing the ball, she has a great feel for the game offensively.
The first basket of the night came from transfer junior guard Veronica Sheffey, who scored a layup 14 seconds into the game, making it her first two points as an Aztec.
A total of 11 players from the Aztecs’ roster played against the Cougars, including six who made their debuts. Those who played in an Aztec jersey for the first time were junior guard Erin Houpt, transfer senior forward Cali Clark, freshmen guards Natalia Martinez and Kaelyn Hamilton, Sheffey and Panganiban.
“I think we’ve done a great job of putting it all together to one piece,” Terry-Hutson said. “You know, with our new freshmen and transfers, we’re just playing with a different pace…They’ve just really done a good job of just kind of stepping in and filling some of those gaps that we had last year.”
The Cougars led just once during the game, taking a 4-3 lead one minute and 18 seconds into the first quarter. After that, the Aztecs led for the remainder of the game.
Throughout the match, the Aztecs coaching staff made several player rotations. Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson talked about the lineups.
“Nothing is guaranteed, we’re going to continue to fight for positions,” Terry-Hutson said. “We have a very, very talented roster and we’re going to see who steps up and earns it. We have a group that if they don’t start, we call them the game changers and there’s a lot of value in that. I mean, they come in and affect the game.”
By the end of the game, four Aztecs ended with double-digit points. Houpt led the Aztecs with 13, followed by senior forwards Adryana Quezada with 12, Kim Villalobos with 11 and Khylee Pepe with 10.
Houpt talked about her shooting against the Cougars.
“I put in a lot of work, I shoot a lot of shots every day and my teammates know that,” Houpt said. “I think they do a good job of finding me, so I think that’s an advantage we have. They’re great at finding me, and I try to knock them down as much as I can.”
Quezada had the most rebounds in the game with 12, and Clark came right behind her with 10. The Aztecs’ statistics for the night were 23-59 from the field, 2-9 at the three-point line and 28-35 at the free-throw line. The Aztecs also rallied up 20 fouls while the Cougars had 25.
The Aztecs had 13 turnovers and the Cougars had 28. The Cougars’ turnovers benefited the Aztecs as they converted 36 points in their favor.
Houpt talked about what worked well in the game.
“I’d say one of our advantages is our height that we had over them,” Houpt said. “I think we outrebounded them today so that was one of our advantages. I think we just needed to stick to our plan and we did that.
As this is just the first game of the season, Houpt mentioned her long-term goal for the rest of the season.
“My goal is to just stay healthy and help the team the most that I can,” Houpt said. “I mean that’s what I went into this game feeling like.”
The scarlet and black will head to Northern California to face off against the University of California, Davis on Friday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m.
