News & Notes
• The Aztecs battle Cal State Fullerton Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m., wrapping up a two-game California road trip.
• Chris Ello (12th season) will once again be the voice of the Aztecs for all home and road contests. He will have an audio-only of the game. Additionally, the game will be streamed on BigWest.tv
• The Aztecs fell at Santa Clara Tuesday afternoon 60-43. Téa Adams led the way for the Aztecs with 10 points.
• Téa Adams, who entered the year with zero career starts, has been the Aztecs' leading scorer in both games so far this season. After scoring 18 points, including the game-winner against Hawai'i, she had 10 at Santa Clara. Through two games, the 5'9" guard is also leading the team with six rebounds per game.
• After posting career-highs in points (9) and rebounds (6) in the season opener, Zayn Dornstauder earned her first career collegiate start at Santa Clara. The 6'3" redshirt junior from Canada, started her career at the University of San Francisco and spent last year at Ball State, redshirting.
• The Aztecs went 0-for-7 from the three-point line at Santa Clara. This was the first time the Aztecs failed to make a three-pointer since March 6, 2015 against Nevada in the Mountain West Tournament.
• While SDSU failed to make a three, they were able to hold the Broncos to 20 percent shooting (4-for-20) from behind the arc.
• The Aztecs played 11 players at Santa Clara with nine players getting at least 10 minutes. Najé Murray led the team with 33 minutes.
• The Aztecs started two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior in their season opener against Hawai'i. That group had a combined 33 career starts entering the game.
• The freshmen duo of Sophia Ramos and Mallory Adams earned the starting nod in the season opener, marking the first time two freshmen started the season opener for the Aztecs since 2003 (Michelle Elliott and Courtney Fritz).
Last Time Out (at Santa Clara 11-13-19)
The San Diego State women's basketball team suffered their first loss of the 2018-19 season with a 60-43 loss at Santa Clara Tuesday afternoon.
The Aztecs shot just 27 percent from the field and failed to make a three-pointer. They were led by Téa Adams' 10 points. Mallory Adams chipped in nine and Sophia Ramos had eight.
Téa Adams provided the offense for the Aztecs early on, scoring the team's first six points and all ten of her points in the first half.
The Aztecs never held a lead in the game but kept it close for the majority of the first frame. A 7-0 Bronco run gave Santa Clara a 15-8 lead, but the Aztecs answered back with a 6-0 run of their own.
The Aztecs forced eight first half turnovers to keep the score close until Santa Clara went on an 11-3 run to close out the second quarter. The Broncos had 11 assists on their 13 first half field goals.
The Aztecs' offensive foes continued in the third quarter where they had just one field goal and five turnovers. They did have seven made free-throws in the quarter, but the Broncos were able to extend their lead to 48-30.
SDSU outscored the Broncos 13-12 in the fourth quarter and didn't allow Santa Clara to make a field goal in the final 5:37.
The Broncos had a balanced scoring attack with five players scoring between eight and 10 points.
SDSU outrebounded the Broncos 36-34, including a 15-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
Scouting the Titans
• Cal State Fullerton is 2-1 on the young season. They have wins over Seattle U (57-54) and Cal Baptist (79-65) and fell at Washington (74-83).
• Daeja Smith is averaging 22.0 points per game and is shooting 64.4 percent from the floor. She had 26 points and 16 rebounds against Cal Baptist on Tuesday.
• Raina Perez leads the team with 9.0 assists per game, while also scoring 16.5 points per contest. She had 13 assists against Cal Baptist.
• Through three games, they are holding their opponents to 21.3 percent shooting from three-point land.
• The Titans have struggled from the free-throw line, making just 55.6 percent of their attempts.
• They outrebounded Cal Baptist 49-37.
• Head Coach Jeff Harada is in his second year at Fullerton. He went 8-21 in his first year.
All-Time Series vs. Cal State Fullerton
• The Aztecs are 17-22 all-time against Cal State Fullerton
• Their first meeting was January 14, 1977, a 70-48 win for the Titans.
• The Aztecs are 7-11 all-time at Fullerton.
• San Diego State has won the last eight meetings.
• These two programs have played in each of the past three years with the Aztecs winning by an average of 7.3 points.
• The Aztecs won 59-58 at home last season.
• The Aztecs are 104-93 all-time against the Big West.
Preseason Notes
• The Aztecs were picked to finish ninth in the Mountain West preseason poll.
• The Aztecs lost four starters and six players total from a year ago. The Aztecs return just 34.6 percent of their scoring from last season.
• Najé Murray (Stockton, Calif.), who was named to the Mountain West all-freshman team last year, is the Aztecs' leading returning scorer (9.3 ppg). She led all MW freshmen in three-pointers made per game and was fourth overall in scoring among freshmen.
• The support from the community was record-breaking a season ago. The Aztecs had 22,069 fans over their 16 home games for an average of 1,379. That broke the total and average attendance records set in 2007-08, when the Aztecs drew 14,730 fans for an average of 1,133 per game.
• The Aztecs have had a winning record at home in 10 of the past 12 seasons.
• The Aztecs shot 71.4 percent from the free throw line last year, their best mark since the 1988-89 season and the fourth best rate in program history.
• The Aztecs made 200 three-pointers last season, the second most in program history (204, 2016-17). They made 33.7 percent of their three-point attempts, their best percentage since the 2009-10 season and the fourth best rate in program history
• For the second straight season San Diego State's incoming freshman class is nationally ranked. The Aztecs' 2018 recruiting class is ranked 59th nationally (according to Prospects Nation), fourth in the Mountain West. G/F Mallory Adams (Frisco, Texas), G Jayden Perez (Las Cruces, N.M.) and G Sophia Ramos (San Antonio, Texas) comprise the freshmen class.
• Transfers Zayn Dornstauder (Ball State) and Taylor Kalmer (Oregon State) will also join the Aztecs this year, although Kalmer will sit out the 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Dornstauder, a 6'3" center from Canada, redshirted at Ball State last year after playing two years at San Francisco as a reserve. Kalmer, a 5'8" guard, spent her past three years at Pac-12 powerhouse Oregon State where she averaged a career-high 6.0 points per game last season.
Aztecs Play at Cal State Fullerton Thursday Evening
