Firepower: SDSU’s secret weapon runs UNLV out of gym

San Diego, CA — Temperatures may be dropping in San Diego, but at Viejas Arena, the Lady Aztecs were heating things up on the hardwood as they hosted Mountain West Conference rival, UNLV.

San Diego State drained a season-high of 14 made three-pointers – a number they haven’t reached since the 2004-2005 season – as they took down the Lady Rebels, 87-68. Both teams now sit at 3-3 in conference play.

Of the 14 made three-pointers, half of them were credited to Lexy Thorderson. The junior forward set a new career high of seven three-pointers in a game. Coach Stacie Terry gave an emotional response when speaking about Thorderson’s performance following the game.

“She deserves all of the success and the accolades that she is getting,” Terry said. “She puts in the time and the work. Those three-pointers are like lay-ups for her, she is a great student, a great teammate, and a great person, she is pretty much perfect. ”

Thorderson, however, felt that coming off her previous game against Utah State where she was 1-of-8 on three-point attempts; she was ready to improve going up against UNLV. She did just that and more, however not without the help of her teammates.

“I was personally very pumped up for this game,” Thorderson said. “I think as a team though we all really wanted this victory, we shared the ball really well, we made the pass when it was needed. All in all, we were really flowing.”

While the Aztecs were locked in offensively draining multiple triples, the Lady Rebels were hoping their defense would be able to slow down San Diego State’s momentum by getting steals. UNLV is the top defensive teams in the Mountain West, leading the conference with 9.8 steals per game. However, they were only able to get five steals from the Aztecs, who maintained the lead for 32 of the 40 minutes they played.

One of the keys to San Diego State’s success offensively tonight was their passing game. They hit a season high of 24 assists, and while the young women seem to connect on another level on the court, it is more than that for this group of ladies.

“I think we have really good chemistry off the court as well,” Thorderson said. “That’s what really helps us because we trust each other, and I think we showed tonight we are all on the same page.”

While it is clear that the girl’s ability to work with each other both on and off the court has truly paid off, their work ethic is a significant contributor to the team’s success as well.

“We broke down our wins and losses,” Terry said. “And we looked at how many assists we had in each, come to find out all of our wins were in the high teens when it came to assists. That in itself proves that when we play together, we are much better. I think that is our secret weapon we can share the ball really well.”

The Aztecs will have a week off before taking on Air Force on Jan. 25. UNLV, on the other hand, will take on Air Force Academy on Jan. 21.