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The Scarlet and Black gave every ounce of effort they had in the tank, ensuring that there would not be a repeat of last year. The defensive clinic they put on Wyoming forced them to play way out of their comfort zone, leading to 15 steals and 25 forced turnovers by the Aztecs. 

Junior guard Veronica Sheffey led the way with 24 points, with freshman guard Naomi Panganiban adding on another 17. Senior center Cali Clark made a lasting impact on both ends of the floor, putting up a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds. She also added six steals and three blocks on the defensive side. Senior forward Kim Villalobos tallied 11 points, with nine coming from overtime minutes. 

The combination of high-intensity defense and four players scoring in double figures led to the first triple overtime in Mountain West Championship history. 

San Diego State women’s basketball (25-9, 11-7 MW) fought off Wyoming (22-11, 14-4 MW) in the Mountain West Championship to acquire a spot in the NCAA Tournament, 72-68. 

“Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice. We over me. That’s been our motto all year. And I thought that held true today,” Head Coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said.

Coming into this game, the Aztecs have fallen to the Cowgirls both times in the regular season, looking for their chance at the most satisfying form of redemption: winning when it matters most. 

The Aztecs come out the gates with fire, forcing two early turnovers in the first two possessions. Clark got the starting position tonight and made an immediate impact with four rebounds, two steals, and the first bucket within the first five minutes of the game. 

SDSU’s stifling defense held the Cowgirls to two points halfway through the first. Sheffey knocked down a tough off-balance fadeaway in the paint to gain a 6-5 advantage early on. 

A swarming double team forced 2024-2025 Mountain West Player of the Year Allyson Fertig to soar a pass to the perimeter out of bounds. Following the turnover, Panganiban got herself involved with a perfect pass to senior forward Adryana Quezada for the easy bucket.

Panganiban responded to a late quarter three from the Cowgirls with a shifty crossover into a pull-up jumper. 

With seconds left in the first, Wyoming came back down the court to lace a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, putting the Aztecs into a first quarter deficit, 17-14.

The second quarter got off to a much slower start, with just two buckets in the first four minutes. However, Clark finished a tough layup with contact to put the Aztecs back on top by one point.

Coming out of a timeout, freshman guard Nat Martinez got herself on the board with a deep two from the corner. She followed this up with a pass underneath to Clark for an easy finish.

The freshmen guards continued making an impact, as Panganiban finished high off the glass over Fertig to keep the Aztecs in front.

“I just feel like people count us out even from the beginning,” Panganiban said. “I think that just fueled the team, especially myself and everyone else to prove them wrong and prove us right.”

The rest of the quarter was back and forth, but Wyoming found themselves up by three with a minute left in the half. Panganiban wasn’t going to allow SDSU to dig themselves into a hole, so she drilled a three in transition to tie the game up going into halftime, 27-27.

The Aztecs forced Wyoming to turn the ball over 10 times while only giving it away once. Despite such a lopsided stat, there were 11 lead changes in the first half as neither team could find a comfortable lead.

The defense kept SDSU in the game, as their shooting in the first half was inconsistent, 38.7% from the field and 16.7% from three.

The third quarter seemed to be a lot of the same, as both teams traded buckets throughout. A couple of mid-range looks from Sheffey and a tough finish from Clark allowed the Aztecs to hang around.

After a late push from the Cowgirls, an in-and-out three barely misses as the clock winds down, giving the Aztecs a lucky break going into the fourth quarter down by two, 43-41. 

Whether both teams got cold or the exhaustion started to settle in, there were zero baskets from either team until three minutes into the quarter. Clark broke the streak by pulling down an offensive board and finishing strong to secure a double-double.

“I’m always for the team and what the team needs, and tonight the team needed me to play some defense and not let Allyson do what she normally does,” Clark said. “I just locked in on that and kind of played with what the game gave me.”

SDSU’s defense continued to show as they didn’t allow a bucket until halfway into the quarter. However, the Aztecs struggled to put the ball in the hoop as well. With their second basket of the fourth, Panganiban tied the game up from the top of the key.

After a forced miss from the Aztecs, they call a timeout with 25 seconds left in regulation. Panganiban looked to take SDSU to the promised land but couldn’t convert on the jumper and sent the game into overtime after a contested miss from Wyoming on the other end.

Villalobos stepped up in overtime, starting off with a layup inside, then hitting a wild shot off the glass with a foul called. She would knock down her free throw to give the Aztecs a five-point lead, the largest of the game.

“I love those moments and all the fans,” Villalobos said. “I love the energy it brings to a team, and I feel like it’s just competing at the end of the day.”

The lead was cut back down to two after another three from the Cowgirls. With just 13.8 seconds left in overtime, Wyoming converted a difficult layup to tie the game up once again, sending the game into double overtime.

Villalobos hit another tough shot in the key, followed by a clutch three from Sheffey on the left wing. This gave SDSU another five-point lead, which was immediately taken away after the Cowgirls hit another triple.

A late foul put Sheffey at the line, where she was only able to connect on one, giving SDSU a two-point lead. Wyoming got the ball into Fertig, allowing her to draw a foul with 6.2 seconds. She would hit both to make the score even at 64-64.

The Aztecs had to inbound from full court, forcing Sheffey to take it coast-to-coast just to have a look at glory. Rising up for the potential game-winning jumper, she would just miss off the left side of the rim, adding five more minutes to the clock.

Coming into triple overtime, Panganiban pulled off a highlight no-look pass to Villalobos as she finished uncontested at the rim. Clark extended the lead with a layup over Fertig, giving them yet another two-possession lead. 

“They were refusing to lose,” Terry-Hutson said. “It wasn’t pretty basketball, but it was competitive, hard-fought basketball, and they were refusing to lose.”

She came up clutch on the defensive end as well, blocking Fertig at the rim. This started the free throw game for the Aztecs, as Sheffey was sent to the charity stripe twice. She would make all four foul shots as if she didn’t feel a sliver of pressure.

“I just knew we were going to win the game. That was the mindset the whole time. Like everyone was locked in,” Sheffey said.

In desperation time, Wyoming forced a pass to the corner that went off the tips of their hands for their 25th turnover of the game. The Aztecs were able to inbound the ball and outlast the gritty Cowgirls, 72-68.

With this victory, SDSU will head to their 10th appearance in the NCAA tournament, winning their third Mountain West Title.

“I thought we just outlasted them…we just gave it all we got and tried to slow them down and came out with a victory,” Terry-Hutson said. 

The show will go on as the Aztecs will find out their next matchup during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show that airs at 5 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN.