SAN DIEGO - The Aztecs have their first road trip of the season, playing at UC Irvine Sunday at 2 p.m. and at Cal State Fullerton Tuesday at 5 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ which requires a subscription.
Aztec Tidbits
• SDSU beat Cal State Los Angeles 72-57 last Tuesday in their season opener. The Aztecs hit 13 three-pointers, their most in a game since Dec. 201, 2017 against Hope International.
• The Aztecs had 22 assists on 27 made baskets. SDSU only topped 22 assists once last year, dishing out 23 against UNLV Feb. 16.
• Sophia Ramos paced the Aztecs with 21 points, going 7-for-12 from the field and 5-for-8 from deep.
• Ramos' five three-pointers put her career total at 101, moving her up to eighth place all-time. She also jumped from 11th to 9th all-time in career three-point percentage (.349).
• It was Ramos' 16th career game with 20 or more points and 62nd time scoring in double-digits. Ramos was averaging 20.0 points per contest in her first five games last year before suffering a hand injury.
• Point guard Asia Avinger (Cerritos, Calif.) was named the Mountain West Preseason Freshman of the Year for the second straight season. She missed all of last season with an injury.
• In addition to Ramos, the Aztecs return five other players who received at least 10 starts last season (Mercedes Staples, Alex Crain, Kamaria Gipson, Isabela Hernandez and Kiara Edwards).
• SDSU also returns Kim Villalobos who was a Mountain West All-Freshman Team selection a year ago. She played with the El Salvador National Team over the summer.
• In total, SDSU returns four starters and nine letterwinners from a year ago.
• The Aztecs have two newcomers: Khylee-Jade Pepe and Meghan Fiso. Pepe (Bishop Montgomery HS, Long Beach, Calif.) is a consensus four-star recruit and was ranked No. 83 in the country by espnW. Fiso played her freshman season at Michigan and was the 2020 AP Class 3A Player of the Year in Washington and was a top 40 recruit according to Prospects Nation.
• Junior Isabela Hernandez (Bellingham, Wash.) is season second all-time in career three-point percentage. She is 47-for-119, good for 39.5 percent, just barely behind Charley Murray's (1998-99) 39.6 percent.
• The Aztecs officially joined the Jordan Brand family this season, becoming just the ninth women's basketball program in the Jordan lineup.
Opponent Notebook (UC Irvine)
• The Anteaters are 2-0 on the young season with wins over Westcliff (114-53) and Southern Utah.
• They went 15-9 last year and 11-4 in the Big West and advanced to the Big West Championship game for the first time since 1997.
• They return eight letterwinners and three starters.
• After two games, they have four players averaging double-digits, all between 10.0 and 10.5 points.
• Kayla Williams was the 2021 Big West Freshman of the Year and made the all-conference first team after averaging 14.4 points, 4.1 assists and 2.6 steals.
• Chloe Webb was an All-Big West honorable mention pick. She averaged 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds.
• They are an impressive 21-for-44 from three (.477).
• UCI has outrebounded their opponents by an average of 15.5 per game.
• Head coach Tamara Inoue is in her sixth year and was named the 2021 Big West co-Coach of the Year.
Series Notes
• San Diego State leads the all-time series 20-8.
• The Aztecs are 10-2 all-time at UC Irvine and have won their last seven games there.
• The two programs have split their last four meetings. UC Irvine beat SDSU in San Diego 66-55 last year.
• Their first meeting was Dec. 16, 1977, a 93-55 Aztec win.
Opponent Notebook (Cal State Fullerton)
• The Titans went 4-18 last year and 2-14 in the Big West.
• They are 1-1 so far with a home win over Southern Utah 71-69 and a road loss at Utah State 85-75.
• Lily Wahinekapu had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds at Utah State Saturday. She had 20 points and seven assists in their season opener against Southern Utah.
• They return seven letterwinners and three starters.
• Anniken Frey averaged 9.2 points last year.
• Carolyn Gill is the team's leading returning rebounder, she brought in 6.2 boards per game last year and scored 7.9 points.
• Head coach Jeff Harada is in his fourth year and entered the year with a 205-206 career record.
Series Notes
• San Diego State leads the all-time series 24-17
• The Aztecs are 8-11 all-time at Fullerton.
• SDSU has won the last 10 meetings, dating back to 1994. Nine of those wins were by double-digits.
• This will be the sixth meeting since 2016.
Sophia Ramos Enters Senior Year with Sights Set on SDSU Record Books
• Senior guard Sophia Ramos (San Antonio, Texas) enters the year with career totals of 1,092 points, 405 rebounds, 308 assists and an 82.6 free throw percentage.
• Ramos became the 13th Aztec to reach 1,000 points in three seasons or less and the 10th to do it in 70 or fewer games.
• Barring injury, she could finish her career in the top five all-time in points and assists and become the only Aztec ever with 1,500 points, 400 assists and 500 rebounds in a career.
• Career records aren't kept for free throw percentage, but she has two of the top ten single-season marks for free throw percentage. She was 85 percent from the line in 2019-20 and 83.1 last year.
• After Tuesday's game, Ramos moved up to 8th all-time in made three-pointers (101) and ninth in three-point percentage (.349). She also is 10th all-time in career assists with 308 and just outside the top ten in made free throws (232).
Sophia Ramos Climbing the Charts (Career Stats)
Stat SDSU Rank Total Next Up
3-Pt FGs 8th 101 Geena Gomez (2016-18), 114
3-Pt FG% 9th .349 Courtney Clements (2011-13), .354
Assists 10th 311 Jamey Cox (2000-03), 341
Made FTs 11th 234 Jessica Haynes (1986-88), 238
Points 18th 1,113 Shelda Arceneaux (1984-87), 1,232
Aztecs at UC Irvine Sunday Afternoon
