The Aztecs’ previous season came to a devastating conclusion, falling to UNLV in the MW Championship, 66-49. Despite having a successful season, ending off in second place was heartbreaking for the team.
This time around, SDSU set themselves up for another postseason run, claiming the No. 4 seed in the tournament. They are set to take on No. 5 New Mexico in the quarterfinals, meaning that they only need to win two games to make it back to the championship. Last year, they had more work to do, since they didn’t get the bye and needed to win three games to get to the final round.
“With the expectation and the standard being raised by getting to the conference tournament game, the championship game, rather last year,” Head Coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said. “So that’s our goal, you know that’s what we’re trying to do, and take it one step further and climb ladders and cut down nets…that’s what we’re going to Vegas for.”
The Aztecs and Lobos are quite familiar with each other, splitting the season series, 1-1. Surprisingly, both teams got their win on the road, but their rivalry goes deeper than that. Both teams met in the quarterfinals last season, where SDSU pulled off a dominant upset against No. 2 New Mexico, 67-56.
“New Mexico knows us very well and we know them very well and we seem to play them every year, one of our most common opponents,” Terry-Hutson said. “It’s going to be a great game…we’re going to try our best to kind of keep them guessing on what we’re going to do and try to take them out of what they love to do.”
Despite having postseason experience against a tough Lobos roster, this time around will be different for the Aztecs. With new young fire-power in the guard position, SDSU will have numerous options to put the ball in the basket.
“Yeah, I’m just looking forward to playing, you know,” freshman guard Nat Martinez said. “I think me and Nae, Naomi, the other point guard, talked about it like just having that experience of making it to the conference play and maybe even making it to March Madness. But really, we’re just focused on winning the championship and cutting down that net.”
With four freshmen contributing a combined 687 points this season, Terry-Hutson has been pleasantly surprised by the group’s performance.
“The younger players have far exceeded my expectations,” Terry-Hutson said. We have such a great group. There’s been times when I’ve had all four freshmen on the floor, and if we can keep that group together, learning and growing and getting better, the future is definitely bright.”
Terry-Hutson has relied on the team’s veterans to mentor the younger players as they prepare for the tournament.
“She’s [Terry-Hutson] having the veterans talk to us, you know, the younger people like ‘Hey, tell them how you made it to the championship. Tell them how hard it was playing four games in a row,’” Martinez said. “Luckily, we do have three games, but going against New Mexico, I mean, just staying to the game plan. Don’t switch anything up, you know, stick to our rules.”
With an experienced roster that includes fifth and sixth-year student-athletes, the veterans have worked to prepare the transfers and freshmen for the challenge ahead.
“Yeah we have vets on this team,” Martinez said. “So you know they’re showing us freshmen, the transfers, the ropes, everything. Like ‘Hey, here’s what you have to do against, you know, New Mexico when we play them and this is, you know, they’re playing style.’ So getting us prepared and getting us locked in and you know we get excited, we’re excited about it, but letting us stay humble about it too.”
For Terry-Hutson, the focus heading into the tournament has been on one key factor: mentality.
“We have a young group and some transfers that haven’t been there, so I want to make sure that we can all stay focused collectively on the common goal,” Terry-Hutson said. “This time of year, it’s more about the mental preparation than it is the physical preparation. So just keeping our minds fresh and understanding what’s at stake and how we need to get there.”
The Aztecs and Lobos will meet again in Las Vegas on Monday at 2:30 p.m. to fight for a spot in the semifinals.
“I just want to thank the community for supporting us,” Terry-Hutson said. “We’ve set the record for attendance two years in a row, and that’s a testament to the community rally around our girls.”
