After falling in the 2024 Mountain West Championship Game to UNLV, the San Diego State women’s basketball team made it a mission to get back to that game, but this time, finish victorious.
Now, the summit is within reach for the Aztecs after they took revenge on the Lady Rebels, 71-59, to advance to their second straight Mountain West Championship Game.
The Scarlet and Black faced a daunting challenge, with UNLV winning the last three conference championships and finishing with a 16-2 conference record on the season. The fourth seed Aztecs were also going up against the record books, having never beaten a number one seed and losing their previous 13 games against UNLV in Las Vegas.
Fortunately, SDSU was responsible for one of those two conference losses, so they knew that with the proper execution, an upset was possible.
“I think it definitely helps our mentality knowing that,” said All-Mountain West guard Veronica Sheffey. “But we proved ourselves even in our non-conference schedule. So knowing that and proving that, what we could do, I think, carries us into our conference and just throughout the whole season, keeping that same mentality.”
The stakes of the game were clear from the get go, with the first quarter setting an intense tone. After the Lady Rebels opened with a 5-0 lead, forward Adryana Quezada hit a three to put the Aztecs on the board.
Scoring was limited early on due to scrappy play between the two teams. Lockdown defense from both sides highlighted the early minutes of the game, with scoring being scarce.
Sheffey finally scored to tie the game at 5 midway through the quarter. However, neither team could gain any offensive momentum for the rest of the quarter.
The quarter finished with a 10-9 UNLV lead. The scoring stayed few and far between, with the Aztecs shooting 4-14 from the field, while the Lady Rebels shot 4-16.
The second quarter was a crucial moment in the game, where both teams hoped to gain any sort of momentum they could going into the half. Luckily for the Aztecs, an offensive explosion helped them light up Las Vegas.
Forward Kim Villalobos opened the quarter with a personal 4-0 run that gave the Aztecs a 13-10 lead. Those buckets sparked what turned into Scarlet and Black fireworks in the second quarter.
SDSU closed the quarter on a fiery 11-0 run, headlined by 8 points from guard Naomi Panganiban.
Despite only being a freshman, Panganiban was poised given the magnitude of the game.
“Honestly we came in taking everything personally,” said Panganiban. “I came in with a mindset, go at everybody, [it] doesn’t matter. Same intensity. And I think our defense really helped with our offense.”
Despite carrying a 33-20 lead into halftime, it was no time for the Aztecs to get complacent.
“We talked about how good UNLV was and there was going to be a run and we needed to stay poised when they did make their run,” said head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson.
Her message at halftime paid off early in the third quarter. After trading baskets with the Lady Rebels, Villalobos blocked a shot on one end and followed it up with a layup on the other end to swing momentum to the Aztecs.
Guard Jazlyn Green added onto the momentum, hitting her second and third threes of the evening. Her timely shots boosted the SDSU lead to 21, their largest of the night.
UNLV clawed back to make it a 14 point lead at the end of the quarter, making for a make or break quarter for the Aztecs’ season.
With the battle-tested Lady Rebels coming full force, it came time for SDSU to stand ground and prevent any comeback efforts from the three-time defending conference champions.
Quezada opened the scoring for the quarter and immediately followed it with a chase down block, setting an immediate tone for how they needed to close the game.
Quezada had a well-rounded performance, making defensive stops and clutch shots when called upon. She finished the night with an efficient 10 points, including two three-pointers made.
“She’s worked really hard on her game,” Terry-Hutson said. “But we know that she can score at all three levels. She hit a big layup, too, at the end when we needed a bucket.”
Despite Quezada’s early statement, a pushback from UNLV was inevitable. They went on a 8-0 run to bring the lead back to within double digits, but SDSU did not fret in the moment.
Villalobos and Panganiban responded with baskets of their own, helping push the SDSU lead back over the double digit mark.
“We knew they would come out more aggressive in the second half, so just being prepared for that,” said Sheffey “And just staying poised and knowing that, like Kaelyn [Hamilton] said, trusting our preparation for the game and knowing we’re all on the same page and just finishing off strong.”
Part of finishing strong meant playing defense when it mattered the most. The Aztecs locked up star UNLV guards Amarachi Kimpson and Kiara Jackson, holding them to 3-12 and 4-18 shooting respectively.
Containing Kimpson was at the forefront of their gameplan. Terry-Hutson has great respect for the UNLV star, which factored into why such tenacious defense was necessary.
“We just tried to make it a little more challenging for her, but UNLV missed some shots they normally make,” Terry-Hutson said. “I just want to give her flowers because she’s been really good to this conference. And UNLV’s done a great job with her. It’s been fun to watch her grow.”
As the clock neared the final minutes, two press-breaking assists from Villalobos earned late points that sealed the game for the Aztecs.
After the buzzer sounded, SDSU pulled off an upset that shocked the entire conference, aside from the two teams playing tonight.
“I mean, we split the regular season with them. So obviously we knew they were capable of beating us,” said UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque.
Although the result wasn’t a surprise for either side, motivation from outside noise helped motivate the Aztecs on the way to their conference finals berth.
“We were looking at ESPN and I think they had a 91.3 percent chance for us to lose,” Terry-Hutson said. “I guess the other way around 8.7, if my math is right. So we just took that personal.”
The Aztecs will shift their focus to the Mountain West Championship Game against Wyoming in Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“It’s what we worked for all season,” Panganiban said. “We came out with a lot of intensity in this game and to carry the momentum to the next game. The job’s not finished.”
