LAS VEGAS - The San Diego State women’s basketball team (25-5) fell to Air Force (15-17) 83-76 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament Championship Sunday afternoon.
“We are obviously really disappointed in the outcome. I thought Air Force played a great game today and deserved to win,” Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said after the game. “But I don't want to get too high or too low, because we've had a fantastic season this year. We have played an amazing brand of basketball for about five months now, and we're not going to let one loss dictate or dampen the season that we've had. To go 19-1 in this conference was a challenging feat. I’m proud of our kids, and we know this isn't the last game for us. We're going to bottle this up and get better for postseason play.”
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout the first half before a seven-point scoring run to close the half gave the Aztecs a 32-26 lead heading into the break. Air Force was able to rally in the third quarter behind 10 consecutive points to pull ahead by five. Seven quick points by Naomi Panganiban helped the Aztecs pull within a single point going into the final frame of play. Despite a late three-point barrage from Panganiban the Aztecs were unable to complete the second half comeback.
Panganiban led SDSU with 29 points, the most ever by an Aztec in the Mountain West Tournament. She added a career best six assists while not committing a turnover. In the final 36 seconds of action Panganiban hit three consecutive threes to keep the Aztecs in the game till the final buzzer.
Kennedy Lee and Kaelyn Hamilton combined for 23 points while shooting 10-15 from the field as a pair.
As a team the Aztecs converted 53 percent of their field goal attempts while outscorng Air Force 40-26 in the paint. They also added 15 points off of turnovers.
Air Force was led by Milahnie Perry’s 33 points while Emily Adams added 20 points.
STAT OF THE GAME
Air Force scored 57 points in the second half.
THE NOTE I
The game featured seven ties and 13 lead changes.
THE NOTE II
This was the first time this season SDSU has lost when scoring 70 or more points.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs now await their postseason assignment.