SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s basketball team hosts UNLV Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a battle of the top two teams in the Mountain West.
Aztec Tidbits
- SDSU has a two-game lead over UNLV for first place and beat the Rebels in Las Vegas 75-66 in overtime.
- UNLV has won the last four Mountain West regular season championships. SDSU last won it in 2012-13, although the Aztecs won the Mountain West Tournament championship last season.
- The Aztecs are 20-4, their best start since the 1993-94 season (also 20-4). This is the fourth straight season SDSU has won at least 20 wins. The Aztecs have only accomplished this once before (1994-97).
- SDSU has won 22 of their last 23 games against conference opponents.
- The Aztecs are committing 12.8 turnovers per game, which would be a school record and is 18th in the country.
- SDSU is averaging 70.2 points per game, which would be the highest since the 1993-94 season. The Aztecs are shooting 49.5% on two-pointers, also their best since 1993-94.
- The Aztecs are making a Mountain West-best 8.3 three-pointers per game, which would easily set a program record. SDSU has made more threes than their opponent in 20 of their 24 games.
- The Aztecs lead the Mountain West in field goal percentage (43.8%) and are second in field goal percentage defense (37.9%). They are shooting 46.3% from the field and 38.4% from three in conference play.
- SDSU also leads the conference in defensive rebounds per game (28.8) and defensive rebound percentage (76.9%) in Mountain West play.
- Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson is one win away from 200 in her career. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, she has led the Aztecs to an 90-38 (.703) record and is 44-14 (.759) since the beginning of last year.
- The Aztecs are 8-1 on the road this year and are 18-5 on the road since the beginning of last year. Their 88.9 win percentage on the road would tie a program record.
- As of Tuesday, the Aztecs have a season-high NET ranking of 72, the best in the Mountain West. SDSU is 2-1 in Quad one or two games.
- The Aztecs are currently predicted as a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament by ESPN’s Charlie Creme. The top 12 seeds avoid playing a true road game in the first round.
- SDSU has had a winning record in non-conference play in each of the last four years. Since the 2022-23 season, the Aztecs are 36-12 (.750) in non-conference games and 22-5 (.815) in non-conference home games.
- This is the first time in program history SDSU didn’t return any scholarship upperclassman (who played last year). Six of the Aztecs’ nine rotation players are sophomores.
- The Aztecs set a single game record vs. New Mexico Jan. 14 with 8,054 fans in attendance.
- SDSU has seven newcomers this year, the most ever under head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson (13th season). They added five transfers with four of them coming from Mountain West schools.
- Entering this year, SDSU had 70 wins over the past three seasons, tied for the most in a three-year span in SDSU history (1994-96).
- SDSU was picked to finish second in the Mountain West Preseason poll, their highest preseason selection since 2012-13.
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- SDSU is 18-1 when they hold their opponent under 70 points. They have held their opponents under 40% shooting 15 times and are 15-0 in those games.
- The Aztecs are 18-1 when they score 60 or more points. They are also 18-1 when they shoot at least 40% from the field.
- SDSU is 18-0 when they have more assists than their opponent.
- The Aztecs are 14-0 when they outrebound their opponent.
- SDSU is 13-1 when they have more points in the paint than their opponent.
- The Aztecs are 18-0 when they lead at halftime and are 4-0 in games decided by five points or less.
- SDSU is 15-2 when they have fewer turnovers, or the same amount, as their opponent.
- The Aztecs are averaging 70.2 points per game, which would be their most since the 1993-94 season. Four of SDSU’s top five scoring teams in the Mountain West era (since 1999) have been in the last four years.
- Since the beginning of last year, SDSU is 34-2 when three or more players score in double-digits (13-0 this year).
- No Aztec averages more than 30 minutes per game and all five starters have had a game with 20 or more points. 10 different Aztecs have had a game with 10+ points.
- Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, the Aztecs are 77-11 (.875) when they score 60 or more (18-1 this year) and 50-6 (.893) when they score 70 or more (13-0 this year).
- Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, SDSU is 48-13 (.787) in home games (11-1 this year).
Player Notes
Nala Williams (Senior, Guard, Long Beach, Calif.)
- Nala Williams’ assist-to-turnover of 2.26 is the best by an Aztec in the Mountain West era (since 1999), leads the conference and is 24th in the nation among qualified players.
- In her career, she has 1,707 points, 604 rebounds, 426 assists and 342 steals in 115 games. She is the only player in the nation with at least 1,700 points, 600 rebounds, 400 assists and 340 steals (across all divisions).
- She leads the Mountain West in assists per game (4.0) in conference play.
- Williams is shooting 47.9% from the field and 46.2% from three in conference play.
- Her 342 career steals are the eighth most in the nation across all divisions among active players.
- She has scored in double-digits in 88 of her 115 career games and has scored 20 or more 31 times. Her career-high is 42.
- She had 20 points, 10 assists and no turnovers vs. San Jose State on Jan. 24 to become the first Aztec in the Mountain West era (since 1999) to put up that stat line.
- She won Mountain West Player of the Week after that performance, her eighth time winning a conference player of the week award (seven times with Cal State Dominguez Hills)
- Against Cal State Bakersfield Nov. 15, 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.
- Last year at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Nala Williams was named the DII National Player of the Year and the National Defensive Player of the Year after helping her school go 36-2 and make the national title game.
- She had 152 steals last year (4.0/game), which was the most in the nation across all divisions. No one else had more than 140 steals and only three other players had 130 or more.
Naomi Panganiban (Sophomore, Guard, San Diego, Calif.)
- Naomi Panganiban has scored 10+ points in a team-high 18 of SDSU’s 24 games.
- She is shooting 84.8% on free throws.
- She has improved in every statistical category from last year when she was named to the Mountain West All-Freshman Team and to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team.
- Panganiban was named to the preseason All-Mountain West Team after leading all Mountain West true freshmen in scoring last season (10.3 ppg).
- Playing for the Philippine National Team at the FIBA Asia Cup, she tied for the team lead in scoring (13.2 ppg) despite being the youngest on the team.
- The Philippines clinched a spot in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament for the first time ever.
Kaelyn Hamilton (Sophomore, Guard, McKinney, Texas)
- Kaelyn Hamilton is shooting 50% from the field in conference play.
- She has scored in double-digits in four of her last six games and matched her career-high of 15 twice in that span.
Maria Konstantinidou (Junior, Forward, Thessaloniki, Greece)
- Maria Konstantinidou scored a season-high 12 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting at Nevada Friday. She became the seventh Aztec in the Mountain West era (since 1999) to shoot 100% from the field while making at least six shots.
- She has played 25 and 21 minutes in the last two games, the two most minutes she has played in a game this season.
Nat Martinez (Sophomore, Guard, San Leandro, Calif.)
- Nat Martinez is second in the Mountain West in free throw percentage (84.0%) among qualified players.
- She won Mountain West Player of the Week after scoring 22 points at Kansas State prior to the holiday break.
- It was her third time scoring 20 or more points against a power conference school, and fifth time overall in her career.
- In her five games against power conference schools, she is averaging 17.0 points per game shooting 55% from the field and 58% from three.
- She was named to the Mountain West All-Freshman Team a year ago and shot 41.9% from three, the fifth best in a single season in program history.
Bailey Barnhard (Sophomore, Forward, San Diego, Calif.)
- Bailey Barnhard is shooting 54% from the field and 53% (9-for-17) from three in conference play.
Kennedy Lee (RS Junior, Forward, Louisville, Ky.)
- Kennedy Lee has two games this year making five or more threes. Her seven made 3-pointers vs. CSUN tied for the second most ever made by an Aztec.
Opponent Notebook (UNLV)
- The Rebels are 17-8 on the year, 12-3 in the MW and 7-5 on the road.
- They have won the last four Mountain West regular season championships.
- They are second in the conference, behind SDSU, in field goal percentage (42.6%).
- Meadow Roland leads the conference in double-doubles (10) and blocks (1.5 per game). She averaged 14.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
- Shelbee Brown averages a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game.
- Head coach Lindy La Rocque (6th season) has won Mountain West Coach of the Year three times.
Series History
- The Rebels lead the all-time series 42-32.
- SDSU is 20-14 all-time vs UNLV at home.
- The Aztecs won three of the last four meetings, including a 75-66 win in Las Vegas Jan. 17. SDSU forced 24 Rebel turnovers, the most they had given up in a game since Nov. 19, 2019.
- Prior to last year, UNLV had won 10 straight vs. SDSU.
- UNLV’s 43 wins vs. SDSU is the most any school has against the Aztecs.