SAN DIEGO — Through three quarters the San Diego State women’s basketball team could quite pull away from Utah State, before riding an early fourth quarter run to a 78-63 win on Saturday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
Kim Villalobos recorded her 13th career double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Naomi Panganiban scored 9 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter and Erin Houpt added 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting from downtown.
SDSU (18-8, 7-7 Mountain West Conference) used an 11-0 run after allowing a 3-pointer to start the final quarter to open a 67-52 lead. Panganiban nailed a step-back 3 behind a screen at the top of the key to give the Aztecs their first double-digit lead. The hosts outscored the Aggies 22-14 in the final quarter and held Utah State (2-23, 1-12) to 37.0% shooting in the second half.
"So proud of us to be able to come back after a pretty dismal defensive first quarter... I think we allowed 13, 13 and 14 in the next quarters so just we needed to lock in," said head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson.
The Aztecs forced 21 turnovers, their most caused in a conference game this season and the fourth time generating 20-plus takeaways against DI competition this season. It turned into a 31-11 advantage in points off turnovers, as SDSU also pounded the rock inside to a 46-30 edge in paint points.
"We're just really focusing in on the team concept of when we drive and we shrink, we get in gaps, we get out when they're shooters, and they're just following directions really well," Terry-Hutson said.
The third quarter saw the teams trade 6-0 runs, with the Aztecs building a 7 point lead while holding the Aggies without a field goal for nearly four minutes. USU responded with 6 points in 52 seconds before the Scarlet and Black called a timeout and Houpt drilled a left corner 3 on their first possession thereafter.
Mia Tarver’s driving layup was answered by a Panganiban drive that caused a foul and led to the freshman sticking a pair of free throws. Then Houpt added her third long ball of the game, splashing from deep near the sideline on the left wing to give the Aztecs a 56-49 lead after the third.
"My teammates were looking for me, so they did a great job of finding me and then we kind of had the momentum going in," Houpt said. "I think it's just the work I do in between the games, just making sure I'm always feeling confident and ready, getting shots up for the game, and just preparing for every game the same."
SDSU took an early 9-2 lead, converting on four of their first five possessions before Utah State dashed off a 13-0 run kick-started by back-to-back Taver triples. The Aggies, who made 10 of 14 from the field in the quarter, led by as much as 7 points before Veronica Sheffey started getting to the rim in the final two minutes, scoring three layups as the first quarter ended tied 23-23.
Driving the lane continued to work for the Aztecs in the second, as they held USU without a field goal for a 3:40 stretch near the midway mark and put together an 8-0 run. Villalobos scored 9 of SDSU’s final 13 points, making a step back paint jumper to end the half with 11 points and a 40-36 edge for the Scarlet and Black.
It was the fifth straight game that Villalobos finished scoring in double-figures, her and the team’s longest such stretch by a player for the season.
"I've seen a little bit more consistency in her game... I actually am challenging her to do more for us," Terry-Hutson said. "I talked to her about being our quarterback and getting the ball inside-out sometimes, because we need Erin and Nat (Martinez) to make 3s for us to be successful at a high rate, high level.
"So she has to rebound, defend score and share the ball so but most importantly, I think she's been on this role because she's taken good shots and she's been really efficient with them."
SDSU enjoyed a 20-5 edge in points off turnovers at the break, forcing 13 giveaways by the visitors on eight steals. The shooting was a bit streaky in the first half, with the Aztecs closing by making six of their final seven from the field while also having a stretch where they made 6 of 7 — going 18 of 36 for the opening 20 minutes.
"Coming out of halftime, we knew we we had to take a bigger lead to close the game, and we didn't get it until the fourth but again, I think it's because the momentum our defense was turning into offense and we had a lot of good transition points," Houpt said.
Cheyenne Stubbs finished with a game-high 20 points, while Tarver added 19 points. Tarver had 14 points and Stubbs had 10 points at the break for Utah State, with both making 5 of 6 shots in the initial half as the Aggies shot 62.5% to keep it close.
San Diego State hosts Nevada in their final field trip day game of the season on Wednesday morning, tipping off at 11 a.m. at Viejas Arena. A crowd in excess of 3,000 is expected for the game, before The Aztecs head on the road to visit San José State on Feb. 22 and Air Force on Feb. 26.
This story was updated at 4:18 p.m.