Depth carries Aztecs to Mountain West win over Air Force

The San Diego State women’s basketball team is far from a one-person show.

“Depth is our strength,” said Aztecs coach Stacie Terry-Hutson. “We have a number of players who can do different things in different situations at different times. We’re a challenging team to play because we have a lot of weapons.”

That was on display New Year’s Eve afternoon at Viejas Arena in a 62-51 Mountain West victory over the defensive-minded Air Force Academy.

Leading scorer Naomi Panganiban got off only one shot in a scoreless first half. Second-leading scorer Nat Martinez was held to four points in each half. But despite limited contributions from their two leading offensive threats, the Aztecs led by as many as 18 points while improving to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play.

Stepping up on Wednesday were guards Kaelyn Hamilton and Nala Williams, along with forwards Bailey Barnhard and Maria Konstantinidou.

Yes, Panganiban and Martinez had their moments. Panganiban drained her first 3-point attempt of the second half and finished with eight points. Martinez was fouled while making a 3-pointer with 4:54 to play in the third quarter and completed the four-point play to boost the Aztecs’ lead to 40-30. She also finished with eight points.

Williams led the Aztecs with 12 points, three assists, a steal, and a block. Hamilton contributed 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, plus two assists, two steals, and four rebounds.

Terry-Hutson is tabbing Hamilton as a candidate for Mountain West Sixth Player of the Year honors, and the sophomore guard played up to that billing Wednesday. During a 14-second span in the third quarter, Hamilton scored a layup, stole the inbounds pass, and scored another layup to make it 49-32.

“Kaelyn played fantastic today,” said Terry-Hutson. “We want to play an up-tempo brand and get out and run. Defense, defense, defense. Kaelyn was that today. I believe in our bench. I believe our depth is our superpower, just like it was last year.”

Barnhard and Konstantinidou combined to produce 12 points and seven rebounds.

“We pulled out the win with defense and rebounding,” said Terry-Hutson. “We’re glad for the win. Air Force plays an aggressive, challenging style of basketball, especially on defense. We probably played 30 minutes of pretty good basketball. We turned the ball over a little too much. And I thought we let down the last five minutes. We’re still chasing that 40-minute game.”

San Diego State had gone 11 days between games, a break that the coach believes factored into the Aztecs’ play.

“We were a little out of sync at times,” she said. “I like where we are. We’re in a good place. We’re prepared. We’re still young, led by four sophomores.”

This is the first time in Aztec history that San Diego State is playing without a returning upperclassman from the previous season’s team.

Wednesday’s win marked the Aztecs’ fifth straight victory this season and their 11th straight against Mountain West rivals dating back to last season.

Going into the Air Force game, the Aztecs had climbed 70 spots in the NET analytical rankings to No. 84 in the nation over a span of three games.
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