Guards Naomi Panganiban and Natalia Martinez triggered runs at the ends of both halves Wednesday night at Viejas Arena as San Diego State’s women’s team defeated UNLV 80-62 to widen the Aztecs’ lead in the Mountain West Conference race to three games with four games to play.
Panganiban scored 20 points as all five SDSU starters finished in double figures. Forward Kennedy Lee (16 points, 10 rebounds) and guard Nala Williams (13 points, 11 rebounds) both turned in double-doubles. Forward Bailey Barnhard finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and three assists. Martinez had 13 points.
The win boosted San Diego State’s overall record to 21-4. The Aztecs are also now 15-1 in Mountain West action. UNLV is second in the regular season standings at 12-4 and fell to 17-9 overall. The Aztecs can clinch a tie for the regular season title with a win over Fresno State Saturday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs swept their two regular-season meetings against UNLV. They defeated the Rebels 75-66 in overtime in Las Vegas on Jan. 17.
UNLV held a 33-27 lead Wednesday night with two minutes and 22 seconds to play in the first half. But Panganiban and Martinez triggered an 11-2 run to intermission with back-to-back threes. Kaelyn Hamilton tied the game at 35-35 on a fast-break layup with 59 seconds to go, then Panganiban put the Aztecs ahead with a buzzer-beating layup plus a free throw.
Although UNLV tied the game early in the third quarter, the Aztecs never trailed in the second half.
San Diego State pulled out to a 60-51 lead with 9:11 to play. After UNLV pulled to within six at 62-56 with 8:26 to go, the Aztecs went on a 12-0 run capped by a 3-pointer and a driving layup off a turnover by Martinez.
The Aztecs outscored UNLV 18-6 over the final 7½ minutes.
San Diego State finished with a 46-40 edge in rebounds and turned the ball over only six times while forcing UNLV into 13 turnovers. San Diego State went 11 for 32 from 3-point range (Martinez and Lee each hit three 3s) while UNLV went 6 for 17.