SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s basketball team beat Hawai’i (6-4) with a thrilling come-for-behind 54-52 win Saturday evening. The Aztecs close out non-conference play with an 11-2 record, their most non-conference wins since the 1983-84 season.
“We did a good job of getting stops down the stretch and holding them to 22 points in the second half was key,” Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said after the game. “We shared the ball and that ‘We over me’ mantra really showed today.”
Freshman Naomi Panganiban was sensational once again, finishing with 24 points and scoring nine of SDSU’s 19 field goals. She is averaging 21.5 points over her last four games.
The Aztecs started the game ice cold, missing eight of their first nine shots, but Panganiban got them a jolt off the bench and scored 10 in the quarter.
A 7-0 SDSU run gave them a 21-14 lead, which would be their biggest lead of the day. Hawai’i responded with a 16-4 run, and they held a lead until midway through the fourth quarter.
The Aztecs shot just 27% from the field in the first half while the Rainbow Wahine knocked down 52% of their shots in the second half.
SDSU cut their deficit to one with four minutes left in the third quarter but then Hawai’i hit back-to-back threes.
Hawai’i’s Imani Perez converted an and-one with 37 seconds left to tie the game at 52. After an SDSU timeout, Veronica Sheffey split two defenders on a handoff from Adryana Quezada and scored the game-winner at the rim with 8.9 seconds left.
The Aztecs got a stop on the final possession to secure the victory.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Aztecs committed just 11 turnovers and have now had less turnovers than their opponents in 12 of their 13 games.
THE NOTE
39 of SDSU’s 54 points came off the bench. On the season, over half of their points have come off their bench. They entered the game third in the nation in bench points.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs begin conference play Dec. 29 when they host Boise State at 1 p.m.