SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s basketball team plays at New Mexico Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. The Lobos are tied with Wyoming for second place in the Mountain West.
Aztec Tidbits
- SDSU is coming off a 59-58 win over first place UNLV last Saturday. The Aztecs trailed by as much as 10 points in the second half and Veronica Sheffey scored a driving lay-up through traffic at the buzzer to secure the win.
- UNLV had won 51 of their previous 52 Mountain West games and 23 straight on the road. The Aztecs, who faced the Rebels in last year’s conference championship game, had lost 10 straight against UNLV.
- Kim Villalobos will be playing in her school record 142nd game Saturday.
- The Aztecs are second in the Mountain West in turnovers forced per game (17.4) and turnover margin (+4.7). They commit just 12.7 turnovers per game (26th in the nation).
- SDSU has had less turnovers than their opponent in 18 of their 22 games.
- The Aztecs are shooting 44.7% from the field in conference play, second best in the Mountain West.
- The Aztecs hold opponents to 61.0 points per game while scoring 70.2. The last time SDSU averaged at least 70 points per game was 1993-94.
- SDSU leads the Mountain West in both free throws made (13.2) and attempted per game (17.6). They are 10-0 when they make more free throws than their opponent.
- The Aztecs are 8th in the nation in bench points per game (30.9). 44% of SDSU's scoring comes from their bench.
- 10 Aztecs average at least 10 minutes per game and seven different players have led the team in scoring in a game.
- Six Aztecs average between seven and 12 points per game. SDSU is 12-2 when three or more players score in double-digits.
- SDSU is one of two schools in the nation to have three players with at least 700 career rebounds (Adryana Quezada, Kim Villalobos and Cali Clark).
- The Aztecs are 12-2 when scoring 60 or more points. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, they are 50-9 (.847) when they score 60 or more and 32-6 (.842) when they score 70 or more.
- SDSU’s 11 non-conference wins were their most since the 1983-84 team that went 13-0.
- The Aztecs have six players in their 4th year or later, five of them in the 5th year or later (Clark, Fiso, Green, Quezada and Villalobos).
- SDSU was one of 21 schools (6%) that didn’t lose any players to the transfer portal in the offseason.
- The Aztecs began the season 8-0, their best start since the 1988-89 season when SDSU started 14-0.
- Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, SDSU is 34-11 (.756) in home games.
Player Notes
- Veronica Sheffey is averaging a team-high 13.9 points per game on 48.2% shooting in conference play.
- Sheffey has scored in double-digits 14 times, the most on the team. She has scored 10 or more points in all but one conference game so far.
- Sheffey is 37-for-41 (90.1%) from the line during conference play.
- Nat Martinez is shooting 60% from the field and 50% from three in conference play.
- She has won the Mountain West Freshman of the Week three times. The Aztecs have won a conference best five Mountain West Freshman of the Week awards (Naomi Panganiban, 2).
- Adryana Quezada is one of six players nationally to have over 1,500 points & 700 rebounds while shooting at least 50% from the field and 70% from the line.
- Cali Clark is fifth in the nation among active players in rebounds per minute (minimum 75 games). She was second in the nation last year.
- In Clark’s 109 games at Colorado State, she had double-digits rebounds six times and one double-double. This season she has nine games with 10 or more rebounds and five double-doubles.
- Clark is third in the Mountain West in blocks and rebounds.
- Clark scored her 600th career point vs. UNLV Saturday.
- Kim Villalobos has played in 141 games, the second most in program history. On Saturday, she will pass Sophia Ramos for the most games played in school history.
- Villalobos has only missed five games in her career. Saturday will be 100th straight game and 92nd straight start.
- Villalobos is one of five players in the nation with at least 1,100 points, 750 rebounds, 200 assists, 175 steals and 90 blocks in her career.
- Villalobos is in the top ten in SDSU history in games, rebounds and blocks.
- Erin Houpt is the only player in the nation to shoot at least 40% from three and 90% from the line in her career.
- Houpt is 93.1% (161-173) from the line in her career, the best in the nation (minimum 150 made).
- Houpt’s 42.1% career three-point percentage is 9th in the nation (minimum 150 made). She is 24-for-51 (47.1%) from three this season.
- Naomi Panganiban has won Mountain West Freshman of the Week twice. She is second on the team in minutes played in conference play.
Opponent Notebook (New Mexico)
- The Lobos are 13-9 on the year and 6-3 in conference, tied for second with Wyoming.
- They have lost their last two games: 77-64 vs. Fresno State and 89-80 vs. Boise State.
- They are 9-6 at home.
- Their NET ranking of No. 140 is sixth in the Mountain West.
- They are second in the Mountain West in field goal percentage (44.8%) and are second in points per game (73.3).
- Destinee Hooks averages 17.0 points per game and shoots 48.2% from the field.
- Viane Cumber averages 16.3 points per game and has a Mountain West high 61 made threes.
- Head coach Mike Bradbury (9th season) has helped the Lobos win 20 or more games in five of his eight seasons.
Series History
- The Lobos lead the all-time series 42-36.
- New Mexico’s 42 wins vs. the Aztecs are the most of any SDSU opponent.
- SDSU's 36 wins against the Lobos are their second most against any team.
- SDSU is 12-18 all-time vs. UNM on the road. They have lost five of their last six games at The Pit.
- The Aztecs lost to New Mexico 68-59 on Jan. 4.
- The two programs met in each of the last three Mountain West Tournaments with the Aztecs winning the last two. Last year, SDSU upset the Lobos in the quarterfinals when the Aztecs were the No. 7 seed and the Lobos were the No. 2 seed.