WBB Recap: Aggies Drop A Heartbreaker To San Diego State

LOGAN – With several key absences, including both of its leading scorers, Aaliyah Gayles and Marina Asensio, plus contributor Rachel Wilson, Utah State had only eight players to welcome the red-hot and league-leading San Diego State Aztecs.

A huge third quarter from Utah State put it in control, and the Aggies turned what should have been a blowout loss into a heartbreaker, falling just ahead of the buzzer 73-72.

“I believe in everybody on the team,” head coach Wes Brooks said of the shorthanded roster. “We recruited them here for a reason. So everybody has a role. Everybody can play.”

The Aztecs got off to a good start, but Jamisyn Heaton and Karyn Sanford kept the Aggies just a step behind. Heaton hit three threes, each picked up an assist, and the pair scored all 18 of Utah State’s first-quarter points.

Sanford added on to open the second frame when she hit a game-tying three. After a pair of Aztec buckets, Sophie Sene and Elise Livingston became the third and fourth Aggies to find the net when they hit back-to-back layups to tie the game back up at 25.

Before the end of the half, five unanswered points from Naomi Panganiban gave the Aztecs a six-point lead, but Sene cut into it with a layup, then pulled down a defensive rebound as time expired to take a 36-32 game into the half.

Utah State struck fast in the second half. Immediately, Livingston hit a three to make it a one-point game, and Aitana Rosello Lopez followed that up with a layup to take the lead. Sene got a bucket to make it a three-point Aggie lead before Kennedy Lee got the Aztecs back on the board with a long two, but Sene responded right back with a straightaway three. Moments later, she added a pair of free throws to cap off a 14-2 run going back to the end of the second quarter and give the Aggies a 44-38 advantage.

The Aggies fought to add two more to their lead when Paloma Muñoz Herreros hit a layup, making it 48-40. But when Kaelyn Hamilton hit two free throws and Panganiban hit a layup to bring the Aztecs within four, the Aggies went on an 8-1 run to take an 11-point lead.

They held that 11-point lead three times, including twice in the fourth quarter. The last time it disappeared was when former Aggie CJ Latta hit a three at the 7:23 mark to make it 60-52. Panganiban followed it with a three that forced Utah State to take a timeout, and Latta hit a fast break layup to cut the Aggie lead to three. The teams traded blows until Nala Williams finally retook the Aztec lead with a three-pointer with 4:51 to play. Two Aggie free throws, one from Sanford and one from Muñoz Herreros, put the Aggies back in front, and another trip to the line by Muñoz Herreros gave the Aggies a 67-64 lead.

The teams kept going back and forth when Nat Martinez got a steal and a fast-break layup, then Williams added a three to put the Aztecs up by two. On the other end, Sanford hit a layup to tie the game at 69. Panganiban hit a layup, but Muñoz Herreros rose and hit a three with 15 seconds to play, returning the Aggies to a one-point lead, 72-71.

With 15 seconds to duck their first conference loss of the season, the Aztecs called a timeout to come up with an escape plan. Martinez inbounded to Panganiban to get things started. Utah State defended the play well, but when Panganiban took flight from the free throw line, there was no stopping her. She knocked down the contested midrange jumper to take a one-point lead.

The Aggies called a timeout but couldn’t convert a play with four seconds left, and Panganiban’s game winner stood. Panganiban is one of the premier shot-makers in the conference, and with 23 points, going 10-of-18 shooting and 3-of-6 from three, and hitting a game winner, she put that on display against the Aggies. 

The teams combined to score nine points with three lead changes and two ties in the final minute, and had five lead changes and two ties in the last five minutes. An environment like that demands a lot from a team, and in this case, the team with more experience and fewer injuries survived.

Sanford, one of the team’s leaders in the impressive effort, summed up the team’s performance simply: “Everybody stepped up.”

She was one of four Aggies in double figures, joined by Heaton and Sene as well as Muñoz Herreros off the bench. Sanford had 13 points with a 5-of-8 and 2-of-3 performance from the floor and from deep, respectively, plus eight rebounds and three assists. Heaton had 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting with a 3-of-5 addition from beyond the three-point line. She added four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.

After letting Sanford and Heaton get a head start with all the scoring in the first quarter, Sene ended the night with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. She also added a steal and was 1 of 2 from deep and 4 of 4 from the stripe without picking up a foul – her first time doing that since she stayed out of trouble for 11 minutes against Omaha.

A game after tying her career high of 12 points, Muñoz Herreros one-upped herself with a record 13 points, which included a heroic three-pointer late. It didn’t quite pay off in the end, but it was a clutch shot for the freshman and added to her 4-of-9 performance from the field and her 2-of-5 clip from deep. She added a board and a steal.

Livingston left the high-scoring performances to her teammates, but stuffed the stat sheet with five points, six rebounds and three assists. Rosello Lopez had six points, a rebound, and four assists.

Utah State is now on a three-game losing streak, but two of those losses are to two of the best teams in the conference. 

“I’m proud of our effort… We played with Colorado State, UNLV, and San Diego State, which are one, two and three in the league, and we played with them unhealthy,” Brooks said.

The Aggies are now 6-9 (2-4) with plenty of season left. 

“We have to get our guns back and then just grow through this, continue to get experience for our young players, and then we'll see what we can do as we turn the corner in February and March, but (we still have) a lot of time to grow,” said Brooks.

After five straight double-digit wins in conference games, Utah State gave San Diego State nearly as much as it could handle, and the Aztecs escaped their first close game since beating Pacific 70-68 to move to 12-3 (6-0) on the year.

“They're undefeated in the conference for a reason. They were in the NCAA tournament last year for a reason. Stacy (Terry-Hutson) has done a really, really good job,” Brooks said.