On Saturday, Viejas Arena looked less like a basketball arena and more like a battlefield during the San Diego State women’s basketball game. Players dove, collided and shoved to get possession of the ball in one of the most physical games of the season. But the Aztecs were prepared for the U.S. Air Force and ended the game with a 68-46 win, moving the Aztecs to 15-5 overall on the season and 6-1 in conference play.
“I think, as a team, we played really well,” senior guard Courtney Clements said. “I think we played tough. We were expecting Air Force to be physical and so we came in with that mindset ready to be pushed around a little bit, and I think we handled it well…”
Once the game began, SDSU wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as it scored the first 6 points of the game. The immediate back-to-back layups by senior center Malia Nahinu and Clements left Air Force worried it might be in for a very long day.
From then on, the Aztecs controlled the ball and defensively held the Falcons to 6 points for the first 10 minutes of the game. However, the Falcons remained persistent and caught up to the Aztecs, who struggled shooting from the field. With seconds left before halftime, Air Force was only behind by 3 points.
But with a second left before the half, senior guard Chelsea Hopkins hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, sending the crowd into a frenzy and giving the Aztecs a 6-point lead heading into the locker room.
The Aztecs shot 31 percent from the field and made 5-of-9 free throws, while the Falcons shot 33 percent from the field and made 3-of-4 free throws in the first half.
The Aztecs returned to the court ready to send the Falcons flying home.
SDSU spent the rest of the second half building a point gap that was nearly impossible for Air Force to narrow. With 3 minutes remaining in the game, the Aztecs were up by 23 points and the game was all but sealed.
“I think we did OK,” Hopkins said. “We had an anxious start and rushed a lot in the first half which contributed to us shooting so poorly and missing a lot of layups. But, overall, I think we picked it up in the second half and I think we did what we set out to do, which was win the game.”
Five of SDSU’s players ended with double-digit scoring totals. Clements lead the team with 15 points, while Hopkins contributed 14 points. Hopkins and sophomore forward Erimma Amarikwa both led the team with eight rebounds.
The Aztecs made 40 of their 68 points in the paint and shot 46 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free-throw line.
The crowd of 1,842, a season-high, witnessed SDSU’s sixth straight win of the season.
SDSU will play Boise State University next at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Boise, Idaho.
