SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State Aztecs survived "an ugly game" against Idaho State.
SDSU struggled to put away the Idaho State Bengals on Monday night at Viejas Arena, 62-51. This is the first time the Aztecs have started the season 3-0 since 2017-18
"Happy to get the win. An ugly game. I thought we showed some toughness in the fourth quarter to get the stops that we needed to kind of separate ourselves," said head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson. "Adversely, though, I thought we played a little sped up. So there's some great teaching points throughout the game... and that's really what you're looking for early on in the preseason, opportunities to grow and get better."
The Aztecs led for nearly the entire game but didn’t put away the Bengals until the fourth quarter when they held Idaho State without a field goal for a five-minutes stretch. SDSU led by two entering the final quarter but held the Bengals to 24% shooting while shooting 58% themselves. 15 of SDSU’s 18 fourth quarter points came from their post players.
Adryana Quezada led the Aztecs with 13 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter. Meghan Fiso added 11 points.
The bench — who the coach refers to as her "game changers" — held down the fort for the Aztec win.
"I think our bench outplayed the starters early on in the second quarter and second half of the first quarter. I thought they kept us in the game," Terry-Hutson said.
"We call them the game changers and I thought they changed the game and that just goes to our versatility and depth."
Guard Meghan Fiso equaled her career high for three pointers and was the second-highest scorer of the night.
"I've been in the gym every day with Erin (Houpt), so kind of been taking her lead on that, following her work ethic, and obviously it's helped me become a better shooter," Fiso said. "I think the confidence that all my coaches and teammates have instilled in me also allowed me to make those shots and be able to keep taking those shots."
Head coach Terry-Hutson has watched as Fiso has developed as a player and is now a valuable part of this new in-depth roster.
"I have her (defensively) on the best or one of the better guards, if not the best guard she's defending now at a high level. I don't think she's taking bad shots. She's taking the shots that she gets. She's just really playing really well," Terry-Hutson said.
"She's waited her turn and she's worked to get these opportunities. I'm just proud that she's having the season that she's having thus far, but I still think she can, you know, even improve in so many areas. She's going to get better and better the more minutes she plays."
The Bengals out-rebounded the Aztecs 19-5 on the offensive glass which led Idaho attempting 16 more field goals than SDSU. Idaho State controlled the paint in the first half outscoring 30 to 16 in the paint, but by the fourth quarter the Aztecs were able to narrow it down to 36 to 30 by making plays down the stretch with and taking away the ball. The Bengals stayed close by creating extra opportunities with offensive rebounds. They held a 24-12 advantage on the glass in the first half and out-rebounded SDSU 10-2 in offensive boards.
The good news is the Aztecs again showed they can still win even through adversity on the court.
"I told the coach at the end I thought they outplayed us the entire 40 minutes," Terry-Hutson said. "I think we have shooters this year that can knock down shots. We gotta put it all together though, and again, that's what the pre-season is for."
The Aztecs host University of San Francisco at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Viejas Arena.