Guards Natalia Martinez, Naomi Panganiban and Nala Williams combined for 50 points while going 10-for-16 from 3-point range on Tuesday afternoon and San Diego State completed its regular season with a 74-57 win at the Air Force Academy.
The Mountain West champion Aztecs finished the regular season with a 25-4 record and an eight-game winning streak. They went a league-record 19-1 mark in conference play, winning the conference championship by four games.
Martinez led the Aztecs with 22 points plus six rebounds, a blocked shot and two steals against the Falcons, connecting on 5-of-8 3-point attempts. Panganiban (La Jolla Country Day) scored 15 points with three assists while connecting on 4-of-7 3-point attempts. Williams scored 13 points and added six assists.
Air Force opened the game by jumping out to leads of 7-0 and 13-6. But the Aztecs went on a 13-1 run while holding the Falcons without a field goal for more than seven minutes.
The Aztecs then scored the first seven points of the second half to take the lead to stay. The Aztecs had a 45-34 edge after intermission, opening with an 18-9 run that included nine points by Martinez and a three-pointer by Panganiban. Martinez finished with 19 points in the second half.
“We didn’t get out to the best start,” said SDSU coach Stacie Terry-Hutson. “But I’m really proud of what we were able to do in the second half. Air Force plays a physical brand of basketball and I thought we responded. Martinez had a fantastic second half, hitting shots but also playing great defense.”
Forward Bailey Barnhard (Del Norte High School) scored eight points with six rebounds for the Aztecs. Forward Kennedy Lee had six points and eight rebounds. The Aztecs hit 50% of their shots and had a 35-28 edge in rebounds.
San Diego State opens the Mountain West tournament on Sunday in the quarterfinals after earning a first-round bye.