SAN DIEGO – The Aztec women's basketball team (9-9, 3-4) returns to Viejas Arena for a pair of home games this week. On Thursday they host Air Force (10-9, 4-4) at 6 p.m. and then on Saturday, SDSU takes on the first place New Mexico Lobos (17-4, 8-0) at noon.
Aztec Tidbits
• The Falcons are coming off a 40-39 loss to Nevada where they had just seven players available due to health and safety protocols.
• The Aztecs lost at New Mexico 75-72 Jan. 9, the closest margin of victory the Lobos have had this season. In that game, SDSU nearly had three players finish with double-doubles (Adams; 21 pts, 9 rebs, Avinger; 10 pts, 9 assists; Villalobos; 17 pts, 11 rebs).
• New Mexico plays at UNLV (15-4, 7-1) Thursday night in a battle between the top two teams in the conference.
• SDSU lost at Nevada 58-46 last Wednesday. They committed a season high 24 turnovers which led to 23 points for the Wolf Pack. It was the Aztecs first loss when holding a team under 60 points (4-1).
• SDSU has played their last two games with just eight scholarship players available.
• The Aztecs are second in the Mountain West in opponent field goal percentage (.375) and third in opponent three-point percentage (.299).
• SDSU is second in the conference in defensive rebound percentage (.750) in Mountain West games.
• Sophia Ramos (San Antonio, Texas) is one of three active four-year players with career totals of at least 1,300 points, 500 rebounds, 350 assists and 100 steals (Ohio's Erica Johnson & Florida's Kiara Smith). She is currently in the top 10 in program history in seven statistical categories, including points, assists and made threes.
• Ramos is second in the conference in steals and is in the top 100 nationally in five statistical categories.
• Mallory Adams (Frisco, Texas) leads SDSU in scoring (15.6) and rebounding (7.7) in conference games. She is shooting 46.2 percent from deep in Mountain West play and has made the second most threes in Mountain West games.
• Ramos (.404) and Adams (.398) are second and third respectively in the conference in three-point percentage.
• Asia Avinger (Cerritos, Calif.) has won two of the last three Mountain West Freshman of the Week awards and leads all freshmen in the conference in scoring and assists. Two weeks ago, she scored 30 points on 10-for-12 shooting against Boise State to become the first Aztec freshman to score 30 or more points in the Mountain West era. She is one of just six freshmen in the nation to score 30 or more points in a game.
• Kim Villalobos (Van Nuys, Calif.) is averaging 8.8 rebounds over her last five games.
• SDSU has three active players in the top seven all-time in career three-point percentage. Mercedes Staples (Centerville, Utah) is fourth at 37.8 percent (51-135), Sophia Ramos is sixth (35.7%, 134-375) and Isabela Hernandez is seventh (35.7%, 56-157).
• SDSU is 7-3 at home, the first time they've won seven of their first 10 home games under Stacie Terry-Hutson (9th year).
• The Aztecs have already surpassed their win total from last year.
• The Aztecs went 6-5 in non-conference play, their first time having a winning record in OOC play since the 2017-18 season.
• SDSU officially joined the Jordan Brand family this season, becoming just the ninth women's basketball program in the Jordan lineup.
Opponent Notebook (Air Force)
• The Falcons are 10-9 overall and 4-4 in the Mountain West.
• They are 4-5 in road games.
• Thursday will be their fourth game in the last eight days, but the first three were all at home.
• They are coming off a 40-39 loss to Nevada where they suited up just seven players and played six.
• They lead the Mountain West in six defensive categories, including scoring defense (57.1) and turnovers forced per game (21.5).
• They are second to last in the conference in scoring, averaging 61.4 points per game.
• Riley Snyder leads the Falcons with 14.8 points per game. She makes a living at the line, where she is 72-for-80 on the year (.900).
• Haley Jones averages 8.6 rebounds per game, the second most in the conference.
• Cierra Winters averages 3.0 steals per game, tops in the Mountain West and 10th in the nation.
• Head coach Chris Gobrecht (7th season) has over 40 years of collegiate head coaching experience and over 600 wins. She has been a head coach at Cal State Fullerton (1979-85), Washington (1985-96), Florida State (1996-97), USC (1997-04) and Yale (2005-2015) before coming to the Academy.
Air Force Series Notes
• The Aztecs lead the all-time series 37-13 but are just 4-6 in the last 10 meetings.
• SDSU is 18-6 all-time against the Falcons in San Diego.
• Air Force went 2-1 against SDSU last year and beat the Aztecs 56-48 in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament last year.
• Neither team has topped 60 points in their last four meetings.
• Their first meeting was Jan. 1, 1997, a 70-41 Aztec win. SDSU won 13 of the first 14 meetings.
Opponent Notebook (New Mexico)
• The Lobos are 17-4 overall and 8-0 in conference play.
• They are 5-2 on the road.
• Entering the week, they are one of 10 teams in the nation on a nine-game win streak or longer.
• They lead the conference with 77.4 points per game.
• They are second in the nation with 206 made three-pointers and in made threes per game (10.3).
• They shoot 38.1 percent from three, the ninth highest in the country and 45.8 percent from the field (21st).
• They made 21 three-pointers against Utah State on Jan. 6, a new Mountain West single-game record.
• They are the only team in the conference with five players averaging double-digits in scoring (McGruder, de la Cerda, LaTora Duff, Latascya Duff and Anderson).
• Shaiquel McGruder is ninth in the nation in field goal percentage (.604).
• Latascya Duff is sixth in the nation in made threes (52) and three-point percentage (.470).
• Head coach Mike Bradbury (6th season) is 111-59 (.653) all-time at New Mexico and is closing in on 300 wins for his career.
New Mexico Series Notes
• New Mexico leads the all-time series 37-32.
• The Aztecs have played the Lobos more times than any other program.
• SDSU is 15-14 all-time against the Lobos in San Diego.
• New Mexico beat SDSU 75-72 in Albuquerque on Jan. 9. The game featured 11 lead changes and eight ties. The Aztecs trailed by 14 points with 5:33 left and then scored 17 points in the final five minutes and nearly pulled off the incredible comeback.
• The Aztecs outrebounded the Lobos 53-35 including a remarkable 24-8 advantage on the offensive glass which led to a 16-1 edge in second chance points for SDSU.
• Their first meeting was Jan. 18, 1992, a 91-44 Aztec win. SDSU won the first 10 meetings.
• The Lobos won 19 straight meetings from 2001 to 2008.
Aztecs Host Air Force Thursday Night
