San Diego State Women’s Basketball has enjoyed a great couple of years under Coach Hutson.

Coach Hutson has led the Aztecs to 20+ wins in three consecutive seasons.

The Lady Aztecs played against the Lady Lobos on Monday afternoon and won 63-53. Setting the tone for a rematch against the Lady Rebels. The Aztecs and Rebels split the season series 1-1. The Aztecs won the first matchup thanks to a game-winner as time expired by Veronica Sheffey.

In the second matchup on the road, the Aztecs lost 65-75.

Coming into the game, the Aztecs were playing with a chip on their shoulder after last year’s loss to the Lady Rebels in the MW Championship game. The Lady Rebels put more flames into the fire after besting the Aztecs in late January. Multiple Rebels players said the loss to the Aztecs was a fluke and should not have happened.

The Aztecs took it personally.

The game opened up as a slow back-and-forth between the two squads until halfway through the second quarter. The Aztecs started to blow the doors open, taking a 13-point lead into the break.

Kim Villalobos came out of the locker room with another gear, scoring the first four points for the Aztecs. Villalobos, the leader in games played by an Aztec women’s basketball player spoke about the situation. “We have used that loss last year as fuel heading into the season,” Villalobos said. Used it, they did. The Lady Aztecs played great team basketball until the fourth quarter when things got a little hairy.

The Rebels turned to a mixture of a man 2-3 zone and a man 3-2 zone. The objective of the zone is to create turnovers by trapping ball handlers on the wings. The Rebels cut the deficit from as much as 23 in the second half to seven points. Coach Hutson called a timeout to rally her troops and keep them composed.

The Aztecs then responded with a three by Jazlen Green. SDSU was victorious and won the matchup 71-59. The Lady Aztecs were the first team to beat the Lady Rebels twice in a season since 2021—an incredible feat.

The Aztecs have now been rewarded with a matchup against the second-seeded Wyoming Cowgirls at 7:30 PM PT on CBS Sports Network.

The Aztecs lost both games against the Cowgirls in the regular season. The most recent being at home 64-51. The key to an Aztec victory is forcing the Cowgirls to live by the three. It starts with doubling Allyson Fertig. Fertig averages 19 PPG and 11.1 Rebounds PPG. In both recent matchups, Fertig has led the Cowgirls in scoring on double-digit shot attempts. She has shown the ability to pass in the recent matchups, getting five assists in the last one. Holding her to under 12 points is a big key.

If the Aztecs win on Wednesday, it will be the first time the Lady Aztecs advance to the NCAA Tournament since 2012.

Bryant Thursby

Assistant Coach at Heritage High School. A big time SDSU fanatic and Padres fan.