Statistics can be misleading. And sometimes they can be brutally honest. San Diego State’s women’s basketball team had one of the latter Wednesday in a 72-47 loss to Santa Clara at Viejas Arena in the Aztecs’ first of two “Field Trip” games for area elementary school kids. The statistic: 1-for-29. That’s what the Aztecs shot from 3-point range for the game. It’s not the only reason the Aztecs (3-2) lost. San Diego State’s defense appeared a step behind throughout a terrible first half, and the Aztecs trailed 45-17 at the break. SDSU was outrebounded 56-36. But their 3-point shooting was particularly abysmal. “I don’t think we gave ourselves much of a chance playing the type of defense that we did in the first half,” SDSU coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said. “We did a better job playing defense in the second half, but at that point the game was out of hand.” It was out of hand long before intermission. Santa Clara (4-2) led 17-6 at the end of a first quarter in which the Aztecs went 0-for-10 from behind the arc. Then Santa Clara went on a 28-11 run in the second quarter, finishing the half with more 3-point field goals (eight) than the Aztecs had baskets (seven). The Broncos and Aztecs actually play similar styles, featuring athleticism over size while firing from long range. The difference Wednesday: Santa Clara went 11-for-25 on 3s; the Aztecs missed 28 of them. Had San Diego State made a third of their 3s, the Aztecs would have been in the game. “They shot the ball really well,” said Terry-Hutson. “But our transition defense was nonexistent in the second quarter. We’re young. We’re going to have bumps in the road like this. And I think we’ve been in the gym a little too much. I thought we looked tired today. We were a little bit behind the ball. We have to figure out how we can get a little more rested.” And the Aztecs’ shooting? “Awful,” said Terry-Hutson. “But you’re going to see 30 attempts this year.” “We had good shots,” said SDSU guard Nat Martinez, who shared the Aztecs’ scoring lead with Kaelyn Hamilton at 12 points Wednesday. “They just weren’t falling today. We’re not going to stop shooting.” The Aztecs won’t have a chance to get immediate rest. They boarded a flight Wednesday night headed for the Bahamas and a Saturday afternoon game against Maryland Eastern Shore.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/11/19/aztecs-not-going-to-stop-shooting-after-ugly-performance-in-loss-to-santa-clara/
Aztecs ‘not going to stop shooting’ after ugly performance in loss to Santa Clara
