Courtesy of Braidon Nourse

LAS VEGAS – San Diego State is undeniable.

After losing last year’s Mountain West championship game to UNLV, Aztecs coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said her team’s blinker had been on for “a long time,” but that it had finally turned a corner.

This year, she says, the Aztecs are speeding down the highway.

But first, a bit of evening traffic. The Credit Union 1 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Championship game between the No. 4 Aztecs and No. 2 Wyoming took three overtimes to decide — the longest MW final ever — before San Diego State walked away with a 72-68 win.

“What a great game for women’s basketball. What a great game for the Mountain West against a really good opponent,” Terry-Hutson said. “I’m proud of our girls, they battled. We had a taste of this March 13th, 2024. I reminded them, this is where we were last year, but on the other side of it. So we were really hungry and I thought they were not going to be denied tonight.”

Kim Villalobos, the longest-tenured Aztec, was one of a few who stepped up enormously in the three extra periods. After scoring an uncharacteristic two points in all of regulation, she tallied five in the first overtime alone before finishing with 11 total points and nine rebounds.

One of the buckets, her patented fall away from eight feet out, front and center to the basket, finally went in after she struggled with the shot all tournament long. Perhaps it was an omen to the eventual outcome, no matter how stubborn the Cowgirls proved after coming back from down five in the first two overtimes.

Tournament MVP and new Aztec Veronica Sheffey contributed the most in overtime, with 10 of her game-high 24 points coming after regulation. She led her team with five assists and added six rebounds herself. Her four free throws at the end of the third overtime were ultimately the difference.

“I just knew we were going to win the game. That was the mindset the whole time,” Sheffey said. “Everyone was locked in. I don’t think anyone had any doubt that we weren’t going to go home. Just knowing that, staying locked in, really focusing, knowing we need those free throws to get the score up — a farther gap. I think just staying focused on the main goal (was key).”

Perhaps the biggest all-around impact on the game came from another new arrival in Cali Clark. Wyoming center Allyson Fertig finished with an impressive 17 points and 18 rebounds, but that stat line overshadows the defensive work Clark did in her first start of the tournament.

From the early going, Clark made Fertig uncomfortable even before any entry pass came her way. Whether it was denying her the ball, forcing catches further from the basket than usual or hounding the ball once it got to Fertig, Clark made life in the post tough for the senior big.

So much so, Clark became the first Division I player this century to record 12 points, 17 rebounds (five of them offensive), six steals and three blocks in a conference tournament game. Most of that production on the stat sheet came in regulation.

“To be honest, when I play a basketball game, I don’t try and look at that,” Clark said. “I’m always for the team and what the team needs, and tonight the team needed me to play some defense and not let Allyson do what she normally does, because obviously she’s the player of the year.

“We knew she was going to be a really great opponent, so just knowing that was my role, I locked in on that and played with what the game gave me.”

Last season, the Aztecs ran out of gas as the No. 7 seed against a three-peat caliber UNLV team, losing by 17 after being even at halftime.

This season, San Diego State had a bye in the first round, which Terry-Hutson said was one of the biggest differences in this year’s readiness for a deep tournament run compared to last season. The other, whether related or otherwise, was mental.

“Just a different mindset. When we came here last year, we were almost grateful and surprised by every win,” Terry-Hutson said. This year when we beat New Mexico and we beat UNLV, it was understood that that was the assignment, and we had one more game to win.

“I just think the expectation changed and I will tell you that this team came back so hungry in the summer and in the preseason to get to this point with the additions of our freshmen, (Sheffey) and Cali. I just thought we had a team that was built for this, and I’ve been saying it all year. I’m really proud of our girls that we were able to get this done.”

Speed away, Aztecs. The highway’s yours.

MW All-Tournament Team:
Mia Jacobs, Fresno State
Malene Pedersen, Wyoming
Allyson Fertig, Wyoming
Naomi Panganiban, San Diego State
Veronica Sheffey, San Diego State (MVP)

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