The San Diego State women’s basketball team used and early burst to take control, then got timely scoring and stops the rest of the way in a 63-53 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs on Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center.Naomi Panganiban had an SDSU-best 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting, while Mountain West Player of the Week Nat Martinez scored 12 points and CJ Latta came off the bench to add 11 points on a perfect 3 for 3 from beyond the arc.
The San Diego State women’s basketball team used and early burst to take control, then got timely scoring and stops the rest of the way in a 63-53 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs on Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center.
Naomi Panganiban had an SDSU-best 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting, while Mountain West Player of the Week Nat Martinez scored 12 points and CJ Latta came off the bench to add 11 points (her most as an Aztec) on a perfect 3 for 3 from beyond the arc.
The Aztecs (7-3, 1-0 Mountain West) had four players score in double figures — Nala Williams also had 10 points — and held the Bulldogs (6-6, 0-1) to 28.8% shooting and just four makes from downtown. Fresno State came into the game ranked second in the Mountain West with a 34.3% shooting mark from downtown.
Fresh off making a dozen 3-pointers against Chicago State, the Bulldogs opened the scoring with a triple, but that would be the first of only two the Aztecs allowed the rest of the half. Bailey Barnhard scored the first SDSU bucket on the drive, then Panganiban splashed a 3 that gave the Aztecs the lead that they wouldn’t surrender.
Williams hit another from beyond the arc to start a 7-0 spurt that helped the Scarlet and Black extend the edge. Then Maria Konstantinidou, facing her former school, got a layup and Williams scored on another drive, with the Aztecs forcing eight straight misses by Fresno State and taking a 16-8 lead after the first.
San Diego State has held opponents to a pair of single-digit scoring quarters in four non-conference games, one more than they did all of last year, with the first quarter against the Bulldogs their ninth time holding an opponent under 10 points in a frame — the Aztecs did so 15 times last season.
The second quarter was all about traded scores, as SDSU was the only team to score multiple in a row. Panganiban knocked down a jumper and Kennedy Lee converted a pair of free throws to push the lead out to 11 points.
For the remainder of the half the teams rallied back-and-forth, with Martinez nailing a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining for a 32-20 lead at the half. Fresno State did not make multiple buckets in a row without allowing an SDSU response in the opening 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with back-to-back scores, but SDSU responded with another 7-0 mini-run powered by the guards, with a Panganiban jumper, a Martinez layup and a Williams and-1.
Latta helped keep the hosts at bay from there, coming alive to score all 11 of her points in the second half. She tripled twice in the third, which the Aztecs had a 49-35 lead after, and then made the first bucket of the final frame from downtown.
Though the Aztecs made just 2 of 7 from the field, they put the game away by knocking down 8 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter. Fresno State went on a 13-3 run with around five minutes to play, but Martinez made a key 3-ball in the midst to make sure the lead never dipped below 6 points.
Mountain West action continues this Saturday, as the Scarlet and Black welcome Boise State (9-3, 0-1) to Viejas Arena for a 1 p.m. tip on Saturday, December 20 at Viejas Arena. The Broncos are coming off dropping their conference opener at New Mexico, 70-63 on Wednesday.
This story will be updated.
Category: General Sports
