SAN DIEGO – 70 seconds into the second half, head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson emphatically called for a full scale substitution after a broken defensive coverage led to another layup.
It was emblematic of the kind of midday malaise that beset the San Diego State women’s basketball team during their first field trip day game of the season, as the Santa Clara Broncos ran away in the second quarter of a 72-47 Aztecs loss at Viejas Arena.
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SDSU (3-2) shot just 18.9% from the field in the first half, missing their first 10 attempts from 3-point land and making just 1-of-29 from downtown for the game in their lowest scoring game of the season. Kaelyn Hamilton and Nat Martinez were the only Aztecs in double figures, both scoring 12 points, while Maia Jones had a season-high 25 points on five made triples for SCU (4-2).
“There’s a lot to learn, and my message to the team is we cannot get wrapped up in our offense, we’ve got to be able to defend at a high level at all times,” said head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson. “This is a young team, this is a new team. We’re trying to figure it out, we’re going to have these bumps in the road, but I’m confident in our team in the locker room that they’re going to recover and fix this.”
It started off looking like a defensive slugfest, with both teams going through extended slumps from the field. There was a 3:31 scoreless stretch after the Broncos took a 9-4 lead on the first of two 3’s by SCU guard Maia Jones, ended by Martinez drawing and hitting a pair of free throws.
But that would be the only offense for the Aztecs as they closed the quarter without a basket in the final 7:12, as Jones made a jumper and another triple to start an 8-0 Santa Clara run. The Aztecs finished the quarter 2-of-17 from the field and 0-of-10 from downtown, until Naomi Panganiban opened the second with a left wing 3-ball.
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“They were a couple open shots that we would make nine times out of ten, just today’s not our day for shooting,” Martinez. “We’re not going to stop shooting, because that’s our playing style… we have to get over it and find another way to affect the game.”
San Diego State guard Nat Martinez looks to drive on Santa Clara guard Aniyah Hooker at Viejas Arena. Image courtesy of SDSU Athletics
Manorack Sukhaseum – SDSU Athletics
San Diego State guard Nat Martinez looks to drive on Santa Clara guard Aniyah Hooker at Viejas Arena. Image courtesy of SDSU Athletics
That was the only make over a stretch of 14 shots for the Scarlet and Black, as Santa Clara caught fire by making 8 of 10 shots to start the second quarter and balloon a 17-6 lead coming in to a 38-13 edge. When Ava Schmidt made a layup at the 2:03 mark, the 30-point deficit was the largest the Aztecs have faced all season.
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Santa Clara hit 6-of-7 beyond the arc and 11-of-16 in the second quarter to pull away.
“They shot the ball really, really well, but our transition defense was non-existent in the second quarter, we made some adjustments making sure we get everybody back, I think that helped a little bit,” Terry-Hutson said. “They took advantage of us being a little bit out of position and not communicating at a high level.”
SDSU made just 7 of 37 in the opening 20 minutes, including going 1 of 18 from beyond the arc while SCU made 50% from the field (17 of 34) and hitting a blistering 8-of-14 from 3-point land. Jones herself scored as many as SDSU for the Broncos, as Panganiban and Lee were the only Aztecs with multiple makes in a 45-17 halftime deficit.
After falling behind by as much as 33 points in the third quarter, the Aztecs outscored Santa Clara 19-12 in the fourth quarter. Hamilton scored 5 of her 10 second half points in the final frame, drawing five fouls with a pair of steals overall, while Martinez scored 10 points in seven minutes in the fourth.
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Up next the Aztecs will take part in a showcase outside the US for the second consecutive season as they will take part in the fifth annual Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. First up SDSU will face the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, then on Monday, Nov. 24 they will tip off against the Penn State Nittany Lions at 9 a.m.
“We have two games to play, they’re two competitive teams, so just focusing on them,” Martinez said. “Tonight we’ll watch film… Using last year (at the Cancun Challenge) as motivation, but also it’s a new team so coming together with team bonding, but at the end of the day it’s business.”
Maryland Eastern Shore is off to a 3-2 start after being picked to finish third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, while Penn State has opened at 4-0 after not being selected in the top five of either the coaches or media preseason Big 10 polls.
“I love our team, I love what we can do,” Terry-Hutson said. “We’ve shown how good we can be, we’ve got to figure out when things get tough, (how) can we get a little bit tougher.”
This story was updated at 2:18 p.m.
