The San Diego State and UC San Diego women’s basketball teams scored home victories Saturday afternoon to remain atop their respective conferences.
The Aztecs won their 13th straight game, defeating Nevada 67-54 at Viejas Arena to improve to 17-3 overall and 11-0 in Mountain West play — maintaining a 1 ½-game lead over UNLV in the regular-season race. The Aztecs are two up in the loss column.
The Tritons (15-6, 10-1) went on a 23-0 run during an eight-minute span in the third and fourth quarters to defeat Cal State Northridge 82-67 at LionTree Arena — retaining a one-game lead in the Big West standings.
After Northridge tied the game with its own 11-2 run, the Tritons scored the final five points of the third quarter and the first 18 of the fourth quarter.
All five UCSD starters finished in double figures. Guard Makayla Rose had 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and eight of the 22 steals produced by UCSD’s pressure defense. Forward Erin Condron had 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Guard Rosa Smith scored 16 points. Guard Dymonique Maxie had 14 points, five assists and six steals. And guard Sabrina Ma finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Although four of the five UCSD starters played at least 34 minutes, the Tritons scored 34 points off the fast break and 33 off turnovers. The Matadors (6-14, 2-9) turned the ball over 31 times.
Defense, balance and depth were again the keywords for San Diego State, which never trailed after jumping out to early leads of 6-0 and 10-2. Sophomore guard Kaelyn Hamilton then scored nine of her 11 points and starred on defense in the third quarter as the hosts pulled away.
“Kaelyn works very hard to get better at everything she does,” said SDSU coach Stacie Terry-Hutson. “It goes beyond defending the other team’s top player.” Hamilton went 5 for 11 from the floor and had four rebounds and three steals. Over her last four games, Hamilton has 42 points, 18 rebounds and six steals.
Said Hamilton: “The first half was a bit rough. In the second half, we were trying to keep them from reaching their spots and get easy shots. There’s always more to do better.”
Naomi Panganiban (La Jolla Country Day) led the Aztecs with 16 points. Bailey Barnhard (Del Norte High School) had 13 points and four rebounds, although she was limited to 14 minutes by foul trouble. Guard Nala Williams had 11 points and three assists.
San Diego State shot 45.3% from the floor while holding Nevada to 33.3% (20 for 60).
“We’re not the hunter anymore. We’re the hunted,” Terry-Hutson said after beating the Wolfpack (7-14, 3-8). “We’re the hunted. Everyone wants to end our streak.
“We still have work to do. We have to get back to playing fast and sharing the ball, doing what we were doing. We’re finding different ways to win. This team is a unicorn. Every game is different. And February is the hardest month. Everyone is tired.”
USD falls
Portland shooters made three free throws in the final eight seconds Saturday to lead the host pilots to a 64-59 win over the visiting Toreros (8-16, 2-9).
Freshman guard Olivia Owens led USD with a career-high 27 points. She went 10 for 21 from the field and 5 for 9 from 3-point range. Sophomore forward Eva Ruse had nine points and 10 rebounds for USD, which was without leading scorer Kylie Ray.