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Remember these battles? Lobo women, San Diego State to revive a compelling rivalry

ken sickenger, albuquerque journal, n.m.
·4 min read

Mar. 4—Lobos versus Aztecs in a high-stakes Mountain West women's basketball showdown.

Sound familiar? It should.

The University of New Mexico and San Diego State will square off Monday in what's easily the marquee quarterfinal matchup of this year's MWC tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lobos (20-11, 12-6) and Aztecs (22-9, 12-6) finished league play in a third-place tie along with Colorado State (19-10, 12-6), but the Mountain West's unbalanced schedule and tie-breaking procedures make UNM-SDSU a 4-5 matchup.

It figures to be a good one. And with rumors circulating that SDSU may move to the Pac-12 sometime soon, it's reasonable to wonder how many more conference battles the Lobos and Aztecs will engage in. Time will tell.

Not only did the teams split their head-to-head meetings this season (both won at home), these programs have been beating each other up on a regular basis for years.

Monday's game will be the 12th Lobos-Aztecs battle in Mountain West tournament competition since the league tipped off in 2000. No other teams have met more than eight times (CSU-Wyoming) in the annual postseason event. UNM and SDSU have faced off in eight quarterfinals, one semifinal and two championship games.

The Aztecs certainly are a familiar foe for Lobos coach Mike Bradbury. In his seven seasons UNM has faced San Diego State 15 times, more than any other program including New Mexico State (12 meetings). Bradbury is 8-7 overall against the Aztecs, 1-1 in MWC tournament play.

"It sure feels like we play them more than anybody," he said. "It feels like it's three times every year. We know each other very well and that usually lends itself to a lot of close games. I'd expect this to be no different."

Bradbury's two tournament quarterfinal matchups with the Aztecs have been bruising-but-memorable affairs.

⋄ 2019: Sophia Ramos scored 10 of her 20 points in the final 3:24 of regulation, including a tying layup with 2.6 seconds left, and the Aztecs toppled UNM 70-61 in overtime. The Lobos were without point guard Aisia Robertson, who suffered a torn ACL in the regular-season finale.

⋄ 2022: Jaedyn De La Cerda scored 26 points as the Lobos ground out a 63-60 win. An offensive foul on Ramos (drawn by LaTascya Duff) with UNM leading 61-60 with seven seconds left was the pivotal moment.

Ramos and Duff will be in uniform again Monday along with a slew of other seniors. UNM has four (twins LaTascya and LaTora Duff, Shaiquel McGruder, Amaya Brown), while SDSU has seven, including standouts Ramos, Yummy Morris and Mercedes Staples.

"We know them, they know us and (we) split our games this year, so this one's the tiebreaker," LaTascya Duff said. "Hopefully we can get two out of three."

History, for what it's worth, is on UNM's side. The Lobos are 8-3 against the Aztecs in Mountain West tournament games over the years, including 1-1 in a pair of memorable championship matchups.

⋄ 2008: Dionne Marsh and Brandi Kimble combined for 43 points but a late putback by freshman Porche Torrance proved pivotal as UNM edged SDSU 62-59 for coach Don Flanagan's final MWC tournament crown.

⋄ 2012: The top-seeded Aztecs' 57-43 win came as no surprise. That the Lobos were in the final at all was a shock. Coach Yvonne Sanchez's short-handed team entered the tournament as a 9-19 No. 7 seed but stunned UNLV and Boise State to reach the title game.

New Mexico and San Diego State have been squaring off in women's basketball since 1992, longer than the Mountain West has existed. The former Western Athletic Conference rivals have met 73 times with UNM leading the series 40-33. Those 40 wins are the most by any foe against the Aztecs.

Regardless, it's a series that's produced more than its share of hard-fought games and dramatic finishes over the years. Monday's matchup between 20-win teams in a win-or-go-home format stacks up as a must-see episode.

Monday

WOMEN: MWC tournament, No. 4 UNM vs. No. 5 San Diego State, 3:30 p.m., 610 AM/95.9 FM, themw.com (streaming). (More tournament information here)