Aztec Storylines
• The Aztecs kick off their 2021-22 season Tuesday when they host Cal State Los Angeles inside Viejas Arena at 11 a.m.
• SDSU beat Biola 79-52 in an exhibition game last Monday. They scored 56 points in the 1st half and 13 different players scored.
• Sophia Ramos (14), Mallory Adams (13) and Mercedes Staples all scored in double-figures. Ramos also led the team in rebounds (7), assists (7) and steals (5).
• The Aztecs went 7-17 in 2020-21 with a 5-12 mark in conference.
• San Diego State received one first place vote in the preseason Mountain West poll and was predicted to finish in eighth place.
• 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.
• 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. She could finish her career in the top 5 all-time in points and assists and become the only Aztec ever with 1,500 points, 400 assists and 500 rebounds in a career.
• Last year Ramos became the 13th Aztec to score 1,000 career points in three years or less and just the 10th Aztec to reach the mark in 70 games or fewer. In her 76 career games, she has scored in double-digits 61 times & scored 20 or more points 15 times.
• 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.) enters season second all-time in career three-point percentage. She is 45-for-116, good for 38.8 percent, just barely behind Charley Murray's (1998-99) 39.6 percent.
• The Aztecs officially joined Jordan Brand family this season, becoming just the ninth women's basketball program in the Jordan lineup.
Asia Avinger Named Mountain West Preseason Freshman of the Year
• Redshirt freshman point guard Asia Avinger (Cerritos, Calif.) was named the Mountain West Preseason Freshman of the Year by select media and the league's coaches.
• Avinger won the award prior to last year as well but then suffered a season-ending injury.
• She is the first player to ever win the Mountain West Preseason Freshman of the Year twice.
• Avinger is the highest ranked recruit under head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson. She was one of the nation's best prep combo guards in 2020 earning a ranking of No. 56 in the nation according to espnW.
• Following her senior year, she was named the Orange County Register's Female Athlete of the Year and to the MaxPreps All-California First Team. She was also named the Trinity League MVP and the Orange County Player of the Year.
• As a senior she averaged 13.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists and helped lead Rosary High School to the 2020 CIF Southern California DI Regional championship before the tournament was suspended due to COVID-19. Rosary HS won the 2019 State Championship and Avinger took home tournament MVP honors after scoring 24 points in the championship game.
• Avinger's twin brother Noah is on the Aztec football team and became the first freshman cornerback to start a game since 2009. Her older brother Lucky is also on the team.
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.
• Ramos is 10th all-time in career assists with 308 and career made three-pointers (96) and just outside the top ten in three-point field goal percentage (.342) and made free throws (232).
Sophia Ramos Climbing the Charts (Career Stats)
Stat SDSU Rank Total Next Up
Assists 10th 308 Jamey Cox (2000-03), 341
3-Pt FGs 10th 96 Coco Davis (2008-11), 98
3-Pt FG% 11th .342 Jene Morris (2008-10), .345
Made FTs 11th 232 Jessica Haynes (1986-88), 238
Points 20th 1,092 Julie Evans (1989-90), 1,106
Opponent Notebook (Cal State Los Angeles)
• The Golden Eagles didn't play in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 and went 12-16 overall and 10-12 in the CCAA in the 2019-20 season.
• They lost at UNLV 106-45 on Wednesday and at Pepperdine ??-?? on Friday
• They were picked to finish fourth in the preseason CCAA Coaches poll.
• CSULA returns just three players from the 2019-20 team and will have 10 newcomers on the squad this season.
• Their three starters are Nicole Flennaugh, the 2019-20 CCAA Freshman of the year, Alyssa Fisher, a three-year starter and Yesnia Smith.
• Head coach Torino Johnson is in his third year and second season at CSULA. The Golden Eagles set program records for three-pointers made and three-point percentage in 2019-20.
Series Notes
• San Diego State leads the all-time series 3-2.
• All five regular season meetings happened between 1976 and 1979.
• They last met in an exhibition game in 2017, a 71-50 Aztec win.
Aztecs Kick Off Season Tuesday Morning vs. CSULA
