The fourth-seeded San Diego State women’s basketball team wasn’t expected to be the team left standing at the close of Mountain West tournament.
They had to face down No. 1 UNLV, which they did Monday, in a 71-59 semifinal win, snapping the Rebels’ streak of three straight tournament championships.
Then came No. 2 Wyoming Wednesday. And, count ’em, it took not one overtime, nor two, but 3 OTs for the Aztecs (25-9, 11-7 MW) to emerge victorious, with a 72-68 win that will send them to the NCAA Tournament.
🏀 Highlights from #4 San Diego State’s 72-68 win over #2 Wyoming to capture the 2025 Mountain West Championship 🏆#MWMadness x #MWAlwaysDelivers pic.twitter.com/XxyZiByi53
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 13, 2025
“I’m out of breath. I’m tired so I know they’re tired,” said head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson. “What a fun game. What a great game for women’s basketball and for the Mountain West against a really good opponent.”
Not surprisingly, the Aztecs and the Cowgirls were tied at the half, at 27, and ended regulation deadlocked at 47.
A block by SDSU’s Jazlen Green kept Wyoming from attempting a game-winning buzzer beater with the score knotted up at 54 at the close of the first OT.
Things were looking good for San Diego State when Veronica Sheffey hit a three-pointer to put SDSU up by five in the second OT, but Wyoming came back and the teams headed to the third OT all tied up at 64.
Naomi Panganiban bounced a pass to Kim Villalobos who slipped under the basket for a layup as the Aztecs opened up the scoring in 3OT. They built a four-point lead, then held on despite scoring no field goals in the final 3:16.
Fatigue may have been a factor for both teams in the waning minutes of the game, with both sides hit by key turnovers, but Sheffey went 4-of-4 from the line in the final seconds to lock down the win for SDSU.
Sheffey, the tournament MVP, led the Aztecs with 24 points and five assists, while Cali Clark had 17 rebounds. SDSU also capitalized on Wyoming mistakes. The Cowgirls had 25 turnovers and the Aztecs scored 20 points off them. Wyoming only scored five off SDSU’s 14 miscues.
Since a Feb. 12 loss to UNLV, the Aztecs have won eight straight. They started the MW Tournament with a 63-53 win over New Mexico.
This is the second straight season the Aztecs have played in the championship game – they fell to UNLV 66-49 last year – and seventh time overall. That ties SDSU with New Mexico and Utah for the most title-game appearances in conference history.
San Diego State will find out its opponent when the NCAA Tournament Selection Show airs at 5 p.m. PT Sunday on ESPN.
It will be the program’s 10th appearance in the tournament and the first since 2012.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
