SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s basketball team (3-1) beat Cal State Bakersfield (0-4) 78-48 inside Viejas Arena Saturday afternoon. The Aztecs allowed just 14 field goals and at one point held the Roadrunners without a field goal for a 20-minute stretch.
“We didn’t play to our best ability in the first quarter, but we were able to bounce back despite not shooting the ball well,” Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said after the game. “My biggest question mark for this team was, ‘Can we find a way to win when we’re not shooting at a high level?’ I was happy that we were able to battle through adversity, figure it out, and find ways to be successful.”
Nala Williams had her best game as an Aztec, scoring 25 points while grabbing 10 rebounds, seven on the offensive glass. She became the first Aztec in the Mountain West era (since 1999) to have at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and three three-pointers in a game.
Naomi Panganiban collected two early fouls but still managed 13 points in just 17 minutes.
The Aztecs got off to a slow start and found themselves down one point after the first quarter. They were also to force six turnovers, but the Roadrunners shot 53% in the opening 10 minutes.
SDSU outscored Bakersfield 25-8 in the second quarter and finished the first half on a 14-0 run. They then began the third quarter on a 9-0 run and held the Roadrunners without a field goal for the entire third quarter.
The Aztecs outrebounded Bakersfield 47-32 and held a 15-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Roadrunners’ Crishawn Coleman had 25 points with 18 coming in the first half.
STAT OF THE GAME
SDSU allowed 24 points in the first quarter and then just 24 points in the remaining three quarters.
THE NOTE I
The Aztecs have won their last three games by an average margin of 37.0 points.
THE NOTE II
The Aztecs held the Roadrunners to 14 field goals, the first time they held a DI opponent to 14 or less field goals since Nov. 23, 2022, vs Penn. SDSU held Cal State San Marcos to 12 field goals in their home opener last Saturday.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs host Santa Clara Wednesday at 11 a.m. for their Field Trip game. The Broncos beat Wyoming by 31 points Friday.