SAN DIEGO – The Aztec women's basketball team (22-9, 12-6) begins the Mountain West Tournament against New Mexico in the quarterfinals Monday at 2:30 p.m.
Aztec Tidbits
• SDSU finished the regular season in a three-way tie for second with Colorado State and New Mexico but received the No. 5 seed due to tiebreakers.
• The Aztecs split their season series with New Mexico with the home team winning each game. SDSU overcame a 13-point second half deficit to beat the Lobos 65-61 on Jan. 19. Two weeks later, the Aztecs lost in Albuquerque 83-78.
• SDSU allows 56.6 points per game (26th in the nation) while New Mexico averages 74.8 points per game (36th in the nation).
• The Aztecs' 22 wins and third place finish are their best since the 2012-13 season.
• Defensively, SDSU is first in the MW in points allowed (56.6) and 3-point % defense (.282) and 2nd in steals per game (9.8).
• On offense, the Aztecs have a three-point percentage of 35.7%, the second best in school history.
• SDSU's 1.06 assist-to-turnover ratio is their best since the 1983-84 season.
• The Aztecs' effective field goal percentage, which places extra weight on made three-pointers, of 48.5% is their best in the Mountain West era (1999-2023).
• The Aztecs have five players averaging between 8.5 and 12.0 points/game.
• SDSU has six players in their fifth year of college. All six have played at least 100 games and are pursuing a master's degree.
• The Aztecs also have six players who were top 100 recruits coming out of high school.
• Sophia Ramos is the only player in the nation with at least 1,900 points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists in her career.
• Ramos is second in school history in points and assists and is in the top three in program history in seven other statistical categories including games (1st), made free throws (2nd), and made threes (2nd).
• Mercedes Staples is shooting 47.4% from three on the year, which is third in the nation, & 41.4 percent during her SDSU career, both are the best in program history.
• Asia Avinger is one of 12 players in the nation to average at least 12.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Of those 12 players, she has the highest field goal percentage (49.4%)
• SDSU has held an opponent to their lowest point total of the year nine times.
• SDSU is 17-2 when scoring 60 or more points and 18-0 when their opponent is held under 60.
• In their 31 games, SDSU has had fewer turnovers than their opponent 24 times.
• SDSU has had more steals than their opponent in all but six games and their 9.8 swipes per game is 36th in the country.
• 15 of SDSU's 22 wins have been by double-digits and eight have been by at least 20 points.
• The Aztecs have held their opponent under 50 points nine times and under 40 percent shooting 17 times.
• SDSU went 15-2 at home this season, their best home record since 2011-12. They have an average margin of victory of 16.3 points at home this year.
• The Aztecs' 10-3 non-conference winning percentage was their best since the 1995-96 season (10-2, .833). According to the NET, SDSU played the second-hardest non-conference schedule in the Mountain West.
• Six Aztecs had at least a 3.50 GPA in the 2022 fall semester, including Sarah Barcello and Sophia Ramos who each had perfect 4.0s in their Master of Education program.
Player Notes
• Asia Avinger (Cerritos, Calif.) was second in the Mountain West in steals per game (2.4) in conference play.
• Sarah Barcello's (Phoenix, Ariz.) is shooting 45 percent from three in conference play.
• Alex Crain (McKinney, Texas) is shooting 38 percent from three in conference play.
• Yummy Morris (North Little Rock, Ark.) has scored in double-digits in nine of the last 11 games. She is second on the team in games with double-digit points (17).
• 44.6% of Khylee Pepe's (Long Beach, Calif.) rebounds are on the offensive end, by far the most on the team.
• Abby Prohaska (Liberty Township, Ohio) was scoreless in SDSU's regular season finale, the first time in her Aztec career she didn't score.
• Sophia Ramos (San Antonio, Texas) is averaging 18.7 points per game in her career vs. New Mexico, the most against any Mountain West opponent. In her 10 games against the Lobos, she has topped 20 points four times, including a career-high 32 in 2020. She also averages 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals and is 39-for-42 from the line (92.9%).
• Mercedes Staples (Centerville, Utah) has eight games this season with at least four made threes.
• Kim Villalobos (Los Angeles) had a career-high 12 rebounds in the regular season finale vs. Air Force. In that game, she surpassed 400 rebounds for her career, and she is two points shy of 600.
Mountain West Tournament Notes
• The Aztecs are 17-21 all-time in the Mountain West tournament.
• SDSU is 5-11 all-time in the quarterfinals.
• This is the first time the Aztecs have been the No. 5 seed.
• SDSU is 3-7 all-time against New Mexico.
• The Aztecs are 1-1 all-time against the No. 4 seed.
Opponent Notebook (New Mexico)
• The Lobos are 20-11 on the year and they went 12-6 in conference.
• They have won six games in a row.
• They are 7-8 in road or neutral games.
• They are ranked No. 102 in the NET.
• Shaiquel McGruder leads the Lobos in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg) blocks (2.0 bpg) and field goal percentage (.555).
• LaTascya Duff averages 13.3 points per game and makes a conference high 3.0 three-pointers per game.
• Her twin LaTora Duff leads the team with 4.7 assists per game.
• They average 74.8 points per game, the second most in the conference. They averaged 99.5 points over their past two games.
• They lead the Mountain West in three-point makes (8.7) and attempts per game (25.5). They are 14th in the nation in made threes per game.
• Head coach Mike Bradbury (7th season) has over 300 wins in his collegiate coaching career.
All-time Series (New Mexico)
• The Aztecs are 33-40 all-time against the Lobos.
• No team has beaten the Aztecs more times than New Mexico.
• SDSU is 5-8 against the Lobos at neutral sites.
• The Aztecs beat the Lobos 65-61 in San Diego on January 19 after coming back from a 13-point second half deficit. Then New Mexico beat SDSU 83-78 in Albuquerque Feb. 4
• Prior to this year, the Lobos had won five straight against SDSU. That followed a span where the Aztecs won six of seven.
• New Mexico won all three games against the Aztecs last year, including a 63-60 win in the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals.
• The last five meetings have all been decided by single digits.
• Sophia Ramos' single-game career-high of 32 points came against New Mexico on January 29, 2020. She was 16-for-16 from the line in that game.