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Everyone gets involved for Aztecs in dominant season-opening win over Titans
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- Everyone gets involved for Aztecs in dominant season-opening win over Titans
SAN DIEGO – On an evening that started with the unveiling of the 2026 Mountain West regular season championship banner, the San Diego State Aztecs showed why they'll be looking for another with a comprehensive 77-51 win over the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Monday night at Viejas Arena.
Three players scored in double-figures, led by freshman forward Mayanebasi Akpan's 13 points, while freshman forward Dionne Madjo and junior guard Alayna Kraus each scored 10 points. Six players had three or more field goals, as SDSU spread around the scoring and dominated inside with a 52-10 paint scoring edge and a 49-11 advantage off the bench.
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Picked to finish third in their inaugural Pac-12 season, the Scarlet and Black flashed much of the potential that had the side earn the second-most first place votes in the conference's preseason media poll.
Even without All-Mountain West junior guard Naomi Panganiban, who tore her achilles during off-season training and is out indefinitely, the characteristic depth of the SDSU program under head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson was on full display against a Cal State Fullerton team picked to finish last in the Big West.
On the defensive end the length thanks to having six players six-foot tall or more, in addition to three more guards 5-foot-9 or taller made the night miserable for the Titans. SDSU held the visitors to three quarters shooting 25.0% or less and did not allow a paint bucket for a nearly 25 minute stretch from 1:13 remaining in the first quarter until just over three minutes gone in the fourth.
All 11 of the Aztecs that played 10 minutes or more scored.
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The opening score of the campaign looked a lot like last year's record setting 3-point shooting side, as junior forward Bailey Barnhard's top of the key drive left senior guard and New Hampshire transfer Eva DeChent all alone to splash a trey from the left wing.
But the rest of the first quarter saw SDSU take advantage of their size and strength advantage inside, as Barnhard scored all three of her buckets in the initial 10 minutes on drives through the paint. Akpan came off the bench to get her first two collegiate baskets on successive possessions.
It was part of the Aztecs battling their way to a 12-4 edge in paint scoring in the opening frame while also getting 6 points off the 4 Titans turnovers they generated. That advantage swelled even more as SDSU scored 16 more in the key in the second quarter while keeping the Titans to the perimeter.
Length all over the floor flummoxed Cal State Fullerton, as the long-limbed Luxembourg-born Madjo, a transfer from France's first league, snatched a pair of steals and scored 8 points in the second stanza.
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SDSU closed the final 5:55 of the half on an 18-3 run, making 8 of their last 10 from the field while the Titans managed just 5 field goal attempts and turned the ball over three times during the stretch.
The first two Aztecs buckets in the second half came from two of the three players who didn't score before the break, as Alyssa Jackson scored down low and Kraus slashed the left side of the lane for a running score.
Then in the fourth quarter senior Point Loma transfer guard Izzy Navarro got herself in the scorebook with a triple, then freshman forward Mairead Hearty scored her first university basket 2:40 after entering with under eight minutes left.
Barnhard finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds, with 6 boards coming on the offensive end, alongside a pair of blocks. Navarro finished with a game-high 5 assists in 20:28 off the bench and also snatched 7 rebounds. Junior guard and New Mexico transfer Nayli Padilla did a bit over everything in just under 20 minutes off the bench, scoring 6 points with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a block.
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The Aztecs open their 2026-27 season with five of their first six games at Viejas Arena within a span of 20 days. After their Nov. 22 game against Winthrop, the Scarlet and Black won't be at home again until facing Point Loma on Dec. 29 in their final game before the opening of the Pac-12 slate.
SDSU will take part in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown near the end of November, facing host Hawaii, Stanford and Columbia over a three day stretch. Then its three games against Northern California opponents over an eight-day stretch in early December, traveling to face Santa Clara, Saint Mary's and Pacific, then taking part in the West Palm Beach Classic on Dec. 20 and 21 against IU Indianapolis and Saint Louis.
Up next is the only field trip day game of the season, as the Scarlet and Black expect to welcome upwards of 4,000 students from around the area for an early start against the North Texas Mean Green.
Last year the Aztecs welcomed over 3,700 to their non-conference field trip game against Santa Clara, before setting a program single-game ecord with 8,054 in attendance against New Mexico during conference play.
Tip-off against UNT is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5 at Viejas Arena, and will be streamed on the Pac-12 Youtube Channel.
