ANAHEIM, Calif. – The San Diego State Aztecs women’s basketball team knew the season opener following their first NCAA Tournament trip in 13 years was a tall order, both literally and figuratively, facing the national No. 3 UCLA Bruins.
So despite being undersized and breaking in a roster featuring just two returning starters and two more returning letterwinners from their 2025 Mountain West Tournament championship squad, the Aztecs scrapped against experienced UCLA in a 77-53 loss on Monday night at the Honda Center in the Orange County Hoops Classic.
Guard Kaelyn Hamilton led SDSU (0-1) with 11 points off the bench and made 3-of-5 from 3-point land, as the Scarlet and Black got buckets from nine different players against the reigning Big Ten Tournament champion and Final Four-advancing Bruins. Returning 6-foot-7 All American, National Defensive Player of the Year and Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Lauren Betts led the Bruins with 21 points, as UCLA had a 43-19 advantage on the glass and 44-16 in paint scoring.
The average height differential of around three inches—UCLA averages nearly 6-foot-2 across their 12-player roster to SDSU’s almost 5-foot-11 over 14 players—provided a challenge that the Aztecs won’t regularly be facing.
What SDSU will have to contend with is youth amongst their returnees, as nine players have sophomore standing or less, though two have utilized redshirt seasons. There’s also the matter of incorporating five transfers, three of whom are the only seniors on the roster.
The starting lineup featured three returning sophomores, as preseason All-Mountain West selection guard Naomi Panganiban had 4 points and five assists, guard Nat Martinez had 10 points on 2-of-3 shooting from 3, as well as forward Bailey Barnhard, who scored 8 points and led SDSU with seven rebounds.
Transfer guard Nala Williams, who was the NCAA DII Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year with Cal State Dominguez Hills last year, scored 10 points in her DI debut, while 6-foot forward Kennedy Lee scored 3 points in her SDSU debut after being limited to just nine games last season at Nevada.
Hamilton, a sophomore who emerged as an energetic defensive presence down the stretch last season, saw the most minutes off the bench as she played 19 and was one of six different players with a steal. SDSU won the turnover battle, forcing 13 by UCLA while only giving away 10.
The night also saw the Scarlet and Black debuts of their three additional transfers, including 6-foot-2 junior forward Maria Konstantinidou, who led Fresno State in blocks while snatching the second-most rebounds. CJ Latta, a 5-foot-10 sophomore guard who led Utah State in 3’s and assists last season, saw her first bucket splash from beyond the arc in the final seconds of the third quarter. 6-foot guard/forward Sofia Kelemeni also got a couple minutes of action after playing only 15 games at San José State last season and averaging 9.3 points.
Sophomore guard Alyssa Jackson made her first appearance after redshirting last season, having made four starts and appearing in all 35 games with the Aztecs during the 2023-24 season which saw them advance all the way to the Mountain West Tournament title game. There was also a sneak peek at Mountain West Freshman of the Year guard Kendall Mosley, who played three of her four minutes in the second quarter.
The Bruins scored the first 8 points of the game and led by 3 points after the first quarter, then turned it on in the second quarter to lead 37-22 at the half. Guard Gabriela Jaquez scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half and guard Charisse Legner-Walker got the start after sitting out all of last season with an ACL injury, with All-America honorable mention guard Kiki Rice coming off the bench.
So while the Scarlet and Black saw the departure of graduated forwards Kim Villalobos, Adryana Quezada and Cali Clark, plus transfers of guards MW Tournament MVP Veronica Sheffey to TCU, 3-point specialist Erin Houpt to Boston College and the graduate move of Meghan Fiso to Pepperdine, there’s a reason why this season’s promotional material has emphasized ‘the future is HERe’.
The first opportunity to see it at Viejas Arena will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 when the Aztecs take on Cal State San Marcos. There will be a special championship celebration, featuring the unveiling of the Mountain West Tournament title banner—the first 500 fans will receive a replica—as well as a presentation of the championship rings before the game.
