After a lopsided loss Saturday night in San Diego State’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 seasons, Azteca coach Stacie Terry-Hutson had a message for her players. “I’m very proud of the season we had,” said Terry-Hutson. “We got beat by a very good team today. We’ll grow. I told t he girls, ‘Don’t let this game cloud what we’ve done.’” Tenth-ranked LSU, the third-seeded team in the bracket, set a school record for points in an NCAA Tournament game, defeating San Diego State 103-48. The Lady Tigers never looked back after jumping off to an 11-0 start. LSU led by 17 points after the first quarter, 29 points at halftime and 37 points after three periods and 55 at the end of the game. LSU entered the game as a 26 ½-point and ESPN analytics gave the Aztecs only a 1.2% chance at winning. Six LSU players scored in double figures while no Aztec reached double digits. “I thought we tried to battle at some moments,” said Terry-Hutson. “They were impressive. We talked about what did we see that we didn’t expect? We didn’t expect their bench to come in and shoot the ball as well as they did and that makes LSU really, really dangerous when they can go as deep as they did tonight. “I thought their transition game was something we weren’t ready for. They were really pushing the ball and we weren’t getting back. We knew we were going to get out-rebounded, we knew who was going to shoot the ball the majority of the time. “And we knew about their transition game. But it was more than we expected. If they play that way, they’ll be a hard out moving forward.” Aneesah Morrow #24 of the LSU Lady Tigers is defended by Jazlen Green #11 of the San Diego State Aztecs in the first half during the first round of the 2025 NCAA women’s basketball tournament held at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 22, 2025 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images) Seeded 14th entering their first NCAA Tournament since 2012, San Diego State finished the season 25-10. LSU (29-5) advances to play Florida State in a second-round game Monday night in Baton Rouge. San Diego State, which entered the game on an eight-game winning streak and as champions of the Mountain West Tournament, gave up runs of 11-0 and 9-0 to open the first two quarters and trailed 49-20 at halftime. The Lady Tigers outscored the Aztecs 27-10 in the first quarter while going 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Six of the Tigers’ 17 first-half field goals were 3-pointers.  The Aztecs had more turnovers (12) than baskets in the first 20 minutes while being out-rebounded 28-14. The Aztecs didn’t have an offensive rebound for the game’s first 18 minutes. Including 3-pointers and made free throws after baskets, LSU, playing before a raucous home crowd, had nine three-point plays in the first half. Plus, one of the Aztecs key players, Kim Villalobos, was in immediate foul trouble. The forward had three fouls in the first eight minutes and fouled out after playing only 10 ½ minutes. “I’m a physical player,” said Villalobos, who was playing in her school-record 154th career game. “I thought I could be a little extra physical.” LSU guard Flau’Jae Johnson (4) breaks free for a score after a steal against San Diego State during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton) Plus, LSU got a boost Saturday when both guard Flau’Jae Johnson (shin inflammation) and forward Aneesah Johnson (foot) returned to the starting lineup after being sidelined with injuries. Johnson, who had been sidelined since Feb. 27, finished with a game-high 22 points and was 4-for-7 on three-point attempts. Morrow had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. LSU connected on 10 of 18 3-point attempts during the game while the Aztecs went only 3-for-22. But the Lady Tigers dominated the Aztecs inside as well as outside. LSU finished with a 53-31 edge in rebounds and out-scored the Aztecs 48-22 in the paint. The Aztecs committed 19 turnovers to LSU’s 11. The Lady Tigers also had 10 steals, leading to a 15-0 edge on fastbreak points. And while Terry-Huston has referred to the Aztecs’ bench as the team’s “superpower,” LSU’s bench outscored the Aztecs’ bench 45-18. “I thought we played with a lot of energy,” said LSU coach Kim Mulkey. “We moved the ball. And everyone who came in contributed.” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey, left, greets San Diego State head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton) Adyrana Quezada led the Aztecs with eight points. Nat Martinez and Jazlen Green each scored seven. Villalobos led the Aztecs with five rebounds in her limited time. Five Lady Tigers had more. Nat Martinez scored the Aztecs’ first points on a 3-pointer with 6:55 to play in the first quarter. Green scored the Aztecs’ second basket on a three from the corner to make it 16-6. Fifteen of LSU’s first 22 points came on threes. “I came to San Diego State when I was 18 and now I’m almost 24,” said Villalobos. “My dream was always to win a conference title and reach this point. We did that. I wish we had played better tonight. “But LSU is a very good team. I’m proud of what we accomplished. And I think things are just going to get better at San Diego State.” Concluded Terry-Hutson: “This group did a great job raising the bar. We’re going to make sure we get back to this level. This was a great experience. We’ll bottle this up so we understand what it feels like so that we won’t have to feel it again.” ...read more read less