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SAN DIEGO – SDSU’s women’s basketball team (26-5) continued their historic season as they beat the UC Irvine Anteaters (26-7) in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT) 61-55 on Thursday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Both Southern California schools won their conference’s regular season title, but lost their first postseason games.
“We had a bitter taste in our mouth after losing in the conference tournament, so it took us a couple days to get rid of that,” said head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson. “But these kids have been resilient and practiced at a high level.”
While the Aztecs have home court advantage as a 4-seed, Thursday’s game was played at the University of San Diego because SDSU is hosting the first round of the men’s NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Despite the change of venue, SDSU fans still came to support.
“It was great that the Aztec community showed up,” said guard Naomi Panganiban. “[We’re] just really grateful for that, because the energy makes a difference for us.”
SDSU set the tone immediately by scoring the first points of the game. Guard Nala Williams drained a jumper off a pass from guard Nat Martinez. Throughout the rest of the first quarter, the Aztecs felt the pressure of the Anteaters physical style of play.
“I think [the defense] rattled us a little more than it should have,” Terry-Hutson said. “We should have been able to push, and it slowed us down.”
The teams were tied at 14 after the first quarter, but SDSU made a quick run to extend their lead to nine in the beginning of the second. However, UC Irvine slowly climbed back with a 7-0 run to make it a 2-point game at halftime, 25-23. The Anteaters and the Aztecs struggled on offense in the first half, only scoring a combined 48 points.
UC Irvine came out of the break aggressively and immediately closed the gap. The Anteaters even pushed their lead to five points, 42-37, but with 1:01 remaining in the third, Aztec starter Kennedy Lee went down hard, needing to leave the game (and not returning until 6:45 left in the fourth).
The moment may have added resolve to the Aztec offense.
Between the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, the Aztecs went on an 8-0 run, with 3-pointers by Panganiban and Martinez and a turnaround jumper by Mountain West sixth player of the year Kaelyn Hamilton, to go up by three , 45-42.
SDSU’s bench cheers on the Aztecs in the game’s final stretch. (Soleil Dam/Her Sports SD)
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In the fourth quarter, both teams traded points and the lead, and the game was tied at 55 with less than two minutes remaining. As the clock wound down, the Aztecs defense tightened and forced turnovers on UC Irvine’s final three possessions. Williams and Panganiban made all of their free throws to seal the victory for SDSU.
“They’re great shooters,” Terry-Hutson said. “They understand what it means when you step up to the line. You've got to be confident.”
The Aztecs celebrated the opportunity to extend their postseason and play next on Sunday.
Next Up
McNeese State defeated No. 1 seed Texas A&M on Thursday, 68-48, giving the Aztecs another chance to host a round of the WBIT at USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion.
On Sunday afternoon, the Aztecs will take on McNeese State University in the second round of the WBIT. Purchase tickets to the game here or tune into the game on ESPN+.
Date: Sunday, March 22
Time: 2:00 p.m. PDT
Location: USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion
Tickets: https://usdtoreros.evenue.net/events/WBIT
Notable
The Aztecs earned their first postseason win since 2013.
With 22 points, Panganiban scored 20+ points for the third straight game, while shooting 9-for-9 from the line.
Lee had 11 points and eight rebounds and Bailey Barnhard set new career-highs with nine rebounds and five assists.
UC Irvine’s Hunter Hernandez, the Big West Player of the Year, scored 19 points.
The Aztecs were 13-for-13 from the line. The 13 consecutive free throws are tied for the most makes without a miss since at least 1999.
