SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s basketball team (5-3) outlasted Pacific (4-5) 70-68 inside Viejas Arena Sunday afternoon.
Behind hot shooting from behind the arc, the Aztecs built a 14-point second half lead only to see the Tigers roar back to cut the deficit to one point. Pacific had the ball in the closing seconds down two, but the Aztecs were able to get a defensive stop to earn the two-point victory.
“It’s always good to learn from wins, rather than learn from losses,” Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said after the game. “We played a really good first half, but we’re still trying to put 40 minutes together.”
SDSU made 11 three-pointers (nine in the first half) and had four players score in double-digits, led by Naomi Panganiban’s season-high 17. The star for the Philippine National Team was 6-for-10 from the field as SDSU was hosting their first ever Filipino Heritage Game.
“It’s awesome to represent my Filipino culture and my family,” Panganiban explained. “Hearing the Philippine national anthem before the game made me a little emotional. To be on this stage and be able to represent, it’s awesome.”
Kennedy Lee had 14 points, Nat Martinez had 12 and Nala Williams added 10 points with a game-high eight rebounds.
SDSU made six threes in the first quarter, closing out the opening stanza with four straight. They strung together a 21-5 run to grab a 14-point lead.
The Tigers went on a 19-6 run to pull within a point with 7:18 remaining but they were never able to take a lead.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
“San Diego has such a huge Filipino community, and it was really cool to see them come together and show love for Naomi.” Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson
STAT OF THE GAME
The Aztecs made six three-pointers in the first quarter and then just five more in the rest of the game.
THE NOTE
Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, the Aztecs are 42-6 (.875) when they score 70 or more points.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs play at Kansas State Wednesday at 9 a.m. PT.