Aztecs ride big games by Martinez, Panganiban to OT road win at UNLV

It had been a couple quiet games offensively for Nat Martinez, so in the biggest matchup of the conference season thus far she and Naomi Panganiban roared to life in the San Diego State women’s basketball team’s 75-66 overtime win over the UNLV Lady Rebels on Saturday afternoon at Cox Pavilion.

Martinez scored a season-high 19 points, with 17 coming after halftime, and Panganiban had a game-high 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting as the Aztecs (14-3, 8-0 Mountain West) took just the second-ever meeting of teams with 7-0 conference records in Mountain West history to take first place.

SDSU allowed just one made basket by the Lady Rebels (12-6, 7-1) in overtime, forcing five turnovers and holding UNLV to just 1-for-5 shooting from the field, while punishing the hosts by feeding the ball inside. Bailey Barnhard scored all 6 of her points in overtime, while Martinez got open back-door to give the Aztecs a two-possession lead midway through the extra session.

The Aztecs came out of halftime hitting almost everything from beyond the arc, as Martinez opened the third quarter by nailing back to back triples. UNLV responded with an 8-0 run that put the hosts back in front, but Panganiban kept the offense rolling by starting SDSU’s biggest scoring run of regulation.

First she canned a 3-pointer, then Martinez got free for a driving layup as Alyssa Jackson and Panganiban made back-to-back 3’s as part of an 11-0 run and 17-8 push to start the second half. The lead grew as large as 10 points twice in the fourth quarter on a Martinez driving score and a Panganiban jumper.

But UNLV, who have won the last four regular season Mountain West titles, put together a 10-0 run over a 1:42 stretch to retake the lead with 41 seconds remaining. Mariah Elohim made two of her three 3-pointers for the game during the stretch, with Lady Rebels leading scorer kicking the run off with her 16th of 18 points of the night on a transition layup.

Panganiban nailed a triple with 41 seconds left to put SDSU back in front by 1, but the Aztecs fouled Jasmyn Lott on a fast break with 18 seconds remaining, but the guard split the pair at the free-throw line. SDSU had a chance to win the game in regulation when Kennedy Lee was fouled on a put back attempt after Nala Williams’ driving attempt missed.

The win extended the Aztecs streak to 10 in a row, and was the first win in a true road game at UNLV since the 2012-13 season. San Diego State is 5-0 on the road this season and are 15-4 on the road since the beginning of last year.

Up next will have a bye during the midweek round of Mountain West games, returning to action against the San José State Spartans on Saturday, Jan. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.