Aztecs’ upset win against UNLV marks historic rivalry in tournament

SDSU seeks their third Mountain West championship since 2012

by Abigail Segoviano, Mundo Azteca Editor • March 12, 2025

Women’s basketball lines up for the national anthem before their home game on Nov. 25, 2024.

The San Diego State and UNLV women’s basketball teams have a shared history in the Mountain West Tournament over the past three seasons.

The Lady Rebels have three-peated as the Mountain West Tournament Champions before losing to the Aztecs, 59-71, in Tuesday’s semifinals.

“UNLV is a really good team and have dominated the Mountain West for so long,” head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said. “They demand respect. Coach La Rocque does a great job with that group.”

UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque was at a loss for words, as she had not been in this situation before.

“I don’t honestly have a ton of words because we haven’t done this much, which is a good thing,” La Rocque said. “In the locker room with the team, here with you, I haven’t been here before. When you’re at the top, when you get knocked off, the fall is long and hard and it hurts.”

The Aztecs became the first team to defeat UNLV twice in a season since 2020-2021. In that season, UNLV faced Wyoming three times, with two of those games resulting in losses.

The first meeting between the Aztecs and the Lady Rebels this season came on Jan. 25 inside of Viejas Arena, where the Aztecs won, 59-58. The second meeting took place at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center on Feb. 12, with UNLV coming out on top, 75-65.

Before the semifinal game, the odds were not in the Aztecs’ favor, as ESPN gave UNLV a 91.3% chance of winning and the Aztecs just an 8.7% chance.

“We just took that personal,” Terry-Hutson said. “We feel like we’re a good team. We know UNLV is very good and they deserve all the respect. But we’re a good team too. And I thought we were trying to show everybody that we were.”

The Aztecs’ frustration towards UNLV was significant after losing to the Lady Rebels, 71-68, in the 2022-2023 semifinals. That season, UNLV was ranked No. 21 in the final AP Poll.

In the following season, the Aztecs met UNLV again in the championship game. The Lady Rebels were the top seed in the conference and ranked No. 21/19.

It was the first time for Aztecs head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson in the championship game. Unfortunately, the result was the same, losing to UNLV, 66-49.

The only players currently on the team to experience both of these losses are guard Meghan Fiso and forwards Kim Villalobos and Adryana Quezada, who will soon depart the athletic program after this season. These seniors are aiming to win a championship for the Aztecs, as the team has not won a Mountain West title since 2012.

The Aztecs play today at the Mountain West championship game against the Wyoming Cowgirls at 7:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center. The game will also be available to watch on CBS Sports Network.

About the Contributor

Abigail Segoviano, ’24-25 Mundo Azteca Editor

Originally from Richmond, California, Abigail Segoviano is a second-year student, majoring in Journalism with a minor in Spanish. This is Abigail’s second year at the Daily Aztec where she got the opportunity to expand her writing skills as a journalist. As a staff writer last year she had the opportunity to mainly cover the entire season of women’s volleyball and also covered a couple of games for women’s basketball. This year her main focus is to branch out and write for different sports. Additionally to get involved in other sections such as Multimedia and Mundo Azteca. Abigail is the Vice President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (SDSU Chapter). Abigail received an award from The Daily Aztec: “Consistent Contributor.” In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching sports, listening to music, and going on adventures with friends.