DAVIS, Calif. – The San Diego State women’s basketball team (2-0) won at UC Davis (1-1) 83-77 in overtime Friday evening.
The Aztecs led by eight with 3:47 left but the Aggies went on a 14-2 run to take a two-point lead with five seconds left. Erin Houpt was fouled with 0.4 seconds left and made both free throws to force overtime.
In overtime, SDSU made just one field goal but made 14 free throws, including seven by freshman Naomi Panganiban to escape Davis with the victory.
“I loved our grit tonight. We could’ve folded, but we came back and played hard and made free throws when it counted,” Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said after the game. “It’s early in the season, so I expect mistakes, but we’ll learn and grow.”
The Aztecs had four players in double-figures led by Veronica Sheffey’s 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Cali Clark had another game with 10 rebounds and added 10 points for her first double-double as an Aztec. Erin Houpt finished with 12 points and went 7-for-7 from the line, and Adryana Quezada added 11 points.
After a first quarter with seven lead changes, the Aztecs led until the final seconds of regulation. Kim Villalobos paced the SDSU scoring with eight of their 16 first quarter points.
The Aztecs led by as much as 10 in the first half, before entering the locker room with a five-point advantage.
Sheffey scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the third quarter as SDSU built their lead as large as 12 points.
The Aztecs struggled to put the Aggies away and UC Davis took the lead with five seconds left on a pair of Tova Sabel free throws.
Houpt was then fouled trying to get a shot up with 0.4 seconds left and hit both free throws. Houpt has the highest career free throw percentage in the nation for any player with at least 100 attempts.
The Aztecs never trailed in overtime and went 14-for-16 from the line to ice the game.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Aztecs had 10 players score and four players in double-digits.
THE NOTE
For the second game in a row, the Aztecs went exactly 28-for-35 from the line. Their 28 made free throws ties the second most in a game in the Mountain West era (since 1999).
UP NEXT
SDSU hosts Idaho State Monday at 6 p.m.