The San Diego State women’s basketball team hosted Idaho State University and won 62-51 on Monday, Nov. 11.

It was a battle from start to finish, with the Bengals just behind the Aztecs for most of the game.

The Aztecs had their way of scoring early on. Guards Meghan Fiso and Nat Martinez drained a three-pointer each in the first and the team shot five free throws compared to Idaho State’s zero.

However, the Bengals held their own, out-rebounding the Aztecs 14-8 and beating them in the paint.

Despite the pushback, the Aztecs ended the quarter with a 15-10 lead.

The Bengals opened the second quarter with a 6-0 scoring run, taking the lead from the Aztecs. The game remained tight throughout the quarter, but an offensive spark was lit for the scarlet and black.

Down two points, Fiso made her second three to take back the lead. A few moments later, she took another three and sunk it, tying her career high of three-pointers made.

Tonight’s performance gives Fiso confidence in herself and her team going forward.

“We’re still gonna, obviously, try to keep hitting that,” she said. “Then outside of that, when teams adjust we have a lot of good options on the outside with our guard play.”

The rest of the quarter remained a battle, with three-point shooting remaining critical to the Aztecs holding a 30-28 lead at halftime. The Aztecs shot 5-9 (55.6%) from three in the first half vs. 2-9 (22.2%) for the Bengals.

Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson was impressed, but not satisfied with the early success from deep.

“I’m trying to get to ten threes,” she said. “I think we made seven tonight, that’s the most we’ve had in a game. So I gotta figure out a way to get Erin{Houpt}some shots, Nat{Martinez}some shots, and Meghan{Fiso}shots, so we can get that number into double digits.”

The battle continued in the third quarter. The Aztecs kept extending their lead, but whenever it seemed like they’d break away with it, the Bengals answered.

The Bengals continued to play scrappy, crushing the Aztecs in the rebounding and points in the paint departments.

Terry-Hutson credited the Bengals’ game plan.

“They outworked us,” she told reporters. “They o-board like crazy and we just didn’t do a great job.”

The Aztecs carried a two-point lead into the fourth quarter, where they would finally break through and take it to the Bengals.

Senior forward Adryana Quezada led the charge, taking over in the paint, where they had struggled in the first three quarters.

Quezada scored seven points in the fourth, leading the charge. She put an exclamation mark on the night with a layup to give the Aztecs a double-digit lead for the first time in the evening.

In addition to Quezada’s offensive takeover, the team dialed in on defense, only allowing nine points in the quarter.

“We were just playing how we know we’re supposed to play,” Fiso said. “When we really buy into it, that’s what happens to other teams.”

The Aztecs’ victory improves their record to 3-0 in the young 2024-25 season.

They will be right back at Viejas Arena, taking on San Francisco on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.