Aztecs dominate through three quarters, notch win at Nevada
· Yahoo Sports
Kennedy Lee’s jumper gave the San Diego State women’s basketball team a double-digit lead they’d never relinquish, starting a dominant second quarter which powered the conference-leaders to a 78-64 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday afternoon at the Lawlor Events Center.
SDSU (20-4, 14-1 Mountain West) outscored the hosts 24-7 in the second stanza, notching three 7-0 bursts. The advantage ballooned as big as 37 points with 1:25 left in the third quarter and was a 31-point lead with 5:41 to play when the reserves began to take over.
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“What I’m most proud of is our ability to win on the road this year,” head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said. “We’ve been much more consistent on the road (and) I thought we played really good basketball for about 30 minutes today, so if we can continue to grow and get that to 32, 35 and maybe 40 come March we’re going to be in a good situation.”
Both Lee and Maria Konstantinidou scored SDSU-highs of 12 points, with Lee getting 9 points on 4-for-4 shooting in the first half and Konstantinidou recorded her first double-digit game in scarlet and black alongside a team-best five rebounds.
SDSU shot 61.3% (19 of 31) in the first half and committed just three turnovers through three quarters. Defensively, they squelched the Wolf Pack’s (8-17, 4-11) top scoring trio of Skylar Durley, Izzy Sullivan and Ahrray Young— who average 24.9 points per game between them — by allowing 19 points on 7 of 23 shooting combined.
With a 23-15 lead after the opening 10 minutes, Lee’s jumper was followed up with back-to-back buckets by Bailey Barnhard as the sophomore forward knocked down a triple and then netted one of her signature fading paint jumpers. Barnhard finished with 9 points, four rebounds and a game and career-high four assists.
A layup by Amelia Raidaveta was answered with the second 7-point spurt. The Aztecs would close the half on their final stretch of 7 in-a-row for the frame as Naomi Panganiban hit a jumper then scored a transition layup off an Alyssa Jackson steal, Konstantinidou spun baseline for a layup and Panganiban hit one of two free-throws when Nevada head coach Amanda Levens was whistled for a technical foul.
Panganiban had 10 points for the game, her fifth consecutive outing in double-figures and team tops 18th of the season. Nala Williams and Kaelyn Hamilton added 10 points apiece as well, with Williams also snatching five rebounds and Hamilton scoring 8 points in the second half after being limited to just two first minutes after picking up a pair of personal fouls.
Bench players Maria Rosarion and Makayla Carter were Nevada’s high scorers, who each netted 14 points and combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter, where the Wolf Pack forced nine turnovers and out-scored the Aztecs 29-9.
“I’m not going to dig too deep into it, it was a great opportunity to get some playing time for those who don’t get a lot of playing time,” Terry-Hutson said. “(It’s an) opportunity to grow and learn and get some film so we can teach them.”
Up next is the return match against the UNLV Lady Rebels, who entered the day two games behind SDSU and hosting Grand Canyons on Saturday afternoon. The Aztecs won the first meeting of the season 75-66 in overtime on Jan. 17 at The Pavilion in Las Vegas, and knocked off UNLV 59-58 in their last meeting at Viejas Area 59-58 on a buzzer-beater on Jan. 25, 2025.
Earlier in the week Terry-Hutson called for the SDSU students to show up for the 6 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
“We’ve had such great attendance and so much love surrounding women’s basketball and the season that we’re having,” Terry-Hutson said. “We need your help…we really want to create a home court advantage…I just want to make sure you understand how important you are to us.
“If we get enough people in here we’re really gonna have this place rocking and our young ladies deserve all the support.”