Naomi Panganiban knocked down a jumper with four seconds remaining that capped off a furious 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter as the San Diego State women’s basketball team escaped with a 73-72 win over the Utah State Aggies.For much of the day at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum it seemed like the hosts were giving the Aztecs (12-3, 6-0 Mountain West) a taste of their own medicine. Utah State (6-9, 2-4) knocked down nine 3-pointers and had four players score in double figures, but it was the
Naomi Panganiban knocked down a jumper with four seconds remaining that capped off a furious 11-point comeback in the fourth quarter as the San Diego State women’s basketball team escaped with a 73-72 win over the Utah State Aggies.
For much of the day at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum it seemed like the hosts were giving the Aztecs (12-3, 6-0 Mountain West) a taste of their own medicine. Utah State (6-9, 2-4) knocked down nine 3-pointers and had four players score in double figures, but it was the 23rd point of the afternoon by Panganiban that proved decisive.
Despite making just 3-of-19 3-pointers through the first quarter and falling behind by 11 three times, including with just over eight minutes remaining in the game, the Scarlet and Black roared to life thanks to an 8-0 spurt.
USU-transfer CJ Latta kicked it off by knocking down a triple, then Panganiban ripped the strings from downtown to keep it rolling and Latta followed with a layup to trim the deficit to three.
The lead changed hands five times over the final five minutes, as Nala Williams nailed a pair of triples sandwiching a steal and score layup by Nat Martinez. Panganiban made the final two from the field for the Aztecs, with the eventual winner coming on a pull-up.
Utah State had a chance for the win, but Sophie Sene’s attempt at the rim missed as time expired. When the Aggies had gone ahead on a 3-pointer by Paloma Munoz Herreros with 15 seconds left, they had four fouls to give, but curiously only fouled twice before allowing Panganiban’s attempt and eventual gamer.
Beyond the 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting by Panganiban, Kennedy Lee added 12 points with seven rebounds, while Williams added 11 points and equaled Panganiban with a game-high four assists.
The game was close through the first half, with the Aztecs holding a modest 36-32 lead at the break, but the Aggies did their major damage in a third quarter where they outscored SDSU by a 24-11 margin. Sene scored 9 of her 17 points for the game in the third, as Utah State opened the quarter with a 7-0 run and had four other instances scoring back-to-back to build their lead.
Jamisyn Heaton led the Aggies with 18 points, while Munoz Herreros and Karyn Sanford both scored 13.
San Diego State extended their winning streak to eight games and gutted their third win of the season when shooting less-than 30% from 3-point land—they're 3-1 when doing so. The Aztecs went 7-for-27 (25.9%) from beyond against the Aggies after having shot 40.0% from 3 in their previous seven wins of the streak.
Up next SDSU will host their second field trip day game of the season when they host the New Mexico Lobos. Tip off is scheduled for 11 a.m. of Wednesday, Jan. 14 at Viejas Arena, with another large crowd featuring area elementary and middle schools expected for the early start. The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
Category: General Sports
