SDSU WBB beats Air force, enters MW Tournament scorching hot
Aztec WBB players stand in line for the national anthem. Photo by Nate Tubbs/EVT
SDSU WBB beats Air Force Academy to finish the season on a mile-high heater.
The Aztecs win 74-57 on Tuesday, March 3, on the road against the Falcons, maintaining strong momentum into the Mountain West tournament. They have now won eight straight to end the regular season and stand at a 25-4 record. Their 19 conference wins are also the most in Mountain West history.
Nat Martinez put together a strong outing, leading the team with 22 points on 5 three-balls. The steady duo of Naomi Panganiban and Nala Williams combined for 28 points of their own.
SDSU shot a monstrous 65% from beyond the arc, and only trailed in the first quarter. On the Air Force side, it was all Milahnie Perry.
Perry finished with 26 points and is knocking on the door of a 500-point season. She is now the Falcons’ all-time scoring leader and holds a few more team records.
For the Aztecs, it’s another game of holding their opponent below 60 points, which has been a constant in their success this season. They also held Air Force to just 36% shooting from the field. Defense is a strong part of their identity and will be a key focus as tournament play approaches.
Coach Stacie Terry-Hutson leads Aztecs to best 3-season stretch in program history.
With this win against Air Force, Coach Terry-Hutson has now officially set Aztec WBB’s winningest 3-season stretch, 72 wins, with tournament play still remaining. This season has the potential to be the strongest one of the three, and the team certainly wants to rectify last year’s March Madness.
SDSU had the misfortune of playing 3-seed LSU on their home court in the first round last year, and fell 103-48, leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Coach Terry-Hutson knows that the focus needs to be on the Mountain West first, though.
“To win the Mountain West Tournament, that’s what’s next on the list,” she said after SDSU’s last home game win vs. Wyoming. “And then hopefully we’re going somewhere where we’re not playing on [their] home floor in the first game.”
Star Players throughout the season
Between Martinez, Kaelyn Hamilton, and Kennedy Lee, it seems that in any given game, one is going to have the hot hand.
The unsung hero, at least of these past recaps, is sophomore Forward Bailey Barnhard, who plays a key role in the paint and in transition.
The sung heroes, Panganiban and Williams, have certainly earned their flowers and make SDSU more balanced than last year.
Panganiban, just a sophomore, has improved from an already positive freshman campaign. The star Team Philippines player has scored more points in 100 fewer minutes than last season.
When all is said and done, she could be knocking on all-time SDSU records of her own. That will be difficult, though, considering the current leader, Sophia Ramos, was an excellent shooter with an extra year of eligibility due to COVID. The record stands at 1,957 points.
Nala Williams was everything San Diego State hoped she would be this season. The reigning DII player of the year from Cal State Dominguez Hills meshed with the team well and is a clear vocal leader on the court.
Will they be dancing?
SDSU has until March 8 to prepare for its MW tournament debut, which will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. As it stands right now, they would be playing the winner of #8 Air Force vs. #9 Wyoming, two teams they just beat to close out the regular season.
Being the 1-seed comes with its favors, of course, but a tournament victory is far from certain this year. Boise State, Colorado State, UNLV, and New Mexico all have solid bids at a ring this year, and the Aztecs have the target square on their backs.
Ultimately, we will know who will be dancing and who will not on March 10. Things keep marching with the ever-anticipated madness starting on March 18.
In the last update of the NET rankings, San Diego State was #68 in the country. They have since tacked on two more wins, but making the tournament finals will be necessary for March Madness consideration.
Selection Sunday is on March 15, so stay tuned through the MW tournament to see where the Aztecs end up.
Nate Tubbs is a recent graduate of Journalism at San Diego State University. In his time at SDSU, he wrote and photographed several different sports for Aztec Link, the school’s NIL collective. He also co-hosted a weekly podcast featuring Aztec athletes, sharing their stories and goals for the season. Tubbs is passionate about photography, storytelling, and most of all, San Diego sports.