San Diego State women’s basketball (18-1 Mountain West, 24-4 overall) defeated the Wyoming Cowgirls (6-13 MW, 9-19 overall) 70-51 on Saturday afternoon at Viejas Arena.

Senior guard-forward Sofia Kelemeni talked about what worked against Wyoming and the challenges they faced on the court.

“One of our best things as a team is transition. We run the floor very well and when we play as a team and we pass the ball, we’re really good,” Kelemeni said. “One thing that challenged us was in that five minutes in the third quarter, we just lost our focus. I think the moment we got it back we were fine.”

The Aztecs clinched the Mountain West regular-season championship title with a win over Boise State on Wednesday.

With the win against the Cowgirls, the Aztecs finished conference play undefeated at home for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

The Aztecs won the tipoff and both teams started quickly with trading back-and-forth baskets.

Wyoming took control midway through the first quarter when freshman forward Jane Rumpf scored a three-pointer to give the Cowgirls a 7-6 lead. Rumpf became the offensive star for Wyoming, adding two free throws and another three-pointer to extend the Cowgirls’ lead to 11-6.

The Aztecs responded with a strong offense later in the first quarter. Sophomore guard Kaelyn Hamilton took the momentum from Rumpf and became the offensive star for the Aztecs.

Hamilton converted a layup to cut the deficit to 11-8, then knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 11. She later gave the Aztecs the lead with another three-pointer off an assist from senior guard Nala Williams after a Wyoming turnover, 14-11.

The Aztecs closed the quarter 20-11.

A moment that had the crowd in excitement came when sophomore guard-forward Alyssa Jackson faced a Cowgirl defender and pulled a spin move and finished a layup to extend the lead to 26-13.

All of a sudden, in the second quarter, the Aztecs started knocking down three-pointers.

Sophomore guard Naomi Panganiban started the trend, hitting the first three-pointer off an assist from Hamilton to push the lead to 29-15. Panganiban added another three-pointer with two minutes left in the first half, this time with the assist from junior forward Kennedy Lee, extending the lead to 33-17.

Williams hit the final three-pointer with 33 seconds left, giving the Aztecs a 21-point differential to end the second quarter, 42-21.

Despite the double-digit lead, head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson wasn’t fully satisfied with her team’s performance going into halftime.

“I thought we missed some defensive assignments,” Terry-Hutson said. “Some of our defensive rotations weren’t there, so I was really disappointed with that. But other than that, I was just ‘keep doing what you’re doing, be consistent and keep playing to the standard.’”

Starting the second half, sophomore guard Nat Martinez set the tone, scoring the first points of the third quarter with a jumper to make it 44-21.

The Aztecs’ three-point game continued, with Panganiban, Williams and Martinez each having one in the third quarter.

Wyoming closed the quarter on a 6-0 run over the final two minutes, cutting the difference to 55-39 heading into the fourth.

Rumpf was the player the Aztecs had to keep an eye on throughout the game. She was the only Wyoming player to score in the fourth quarter with 12 points, three three-pointers and three free throws.

“We knew who she was and how good of a shooter she is,” Terry-Hutson said. “We call our shooters ‘green,’ and we were supposed to get a little more connected to her. There was other positions where I thought we did a good job going over the top of the screen and making sure she was denied.”

As for the Aztecs, 15 points were scored in the last quarter, with contributions from Panganiban, Lee, Hamilton, Kelemeni and junior guard Ellie Chen.

The final basket came from Chen after the crowd chanted for her to enter the game. Following a Wyoming turnover, freshman guard Kendall Mosley passed to Chen, who made a jumper with seven seconds remaining in the game.

By the end of the game, the Aztecs shot 46% from the field, 41% from three-point range and 69% from the free-throw line. Wyoming finished at 37% from the field, 32% from three-point range and 78% in free throws.

The Aztecs were led by Panganiban, who scored 20 points and Hamilton, who scored a career-high 18 points.

Terry-Hutson praised Hamilton’s growing confidence throughout the season.

“She’s really improved over the last probably three or four months, but it’s not a coincidence,” Terry-Hutson said. “She’s putting in the time, she’s in the gym, she’s staying after practice, she’s doing all the right things and I was really proud of her effort today offensively.”

The game against Wyoming marked the Aztecs’ final home game of the season. The program celebrated its two seniors, Williams and Kelemeni, both of whom joined the team this season.

“They have impacted this program in so many ways more than they probably even realized,” Terry-Hutson said. “Nala is a little bit more of a front runner starting for us, but Sofia comes to practice every single day with a hard hat doing the work.”

Williams reflected on playing at Viejas Arena for one season.

“It’s like a bittersweet moment because I wanted the season to go to an end so we can win and go to the tournament,” Williams said. “I’m gonna miss playing in this gym so much and even though it’s only been a year, it’s been a great one.”

The Aztecs will close out conference play on Wednesday, March 4, at Air Force in Colorado Springs at 3 p.m.

“We’re going to do our best to try to keep that competitive spirit in the right space and make sure we prepare for everything that they do and be able to come over some adversity because it’s going to be a battle,” Terry-Hutson said.