How San Diego State can build on momentum from its 2025 Mountain West title

SDSU wasted no time hiding from tough competition. It opened the season against No. 3 UCLA on Nov. 3 at the Honda Center, home of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. The Bruins, stacked with All-Americans and future WNBA Draft picks, pulled away to a 77-53 win. Still, there were bright spots for SDSU. Nala Williams scored 10 points for the Aztecs, and forward Bailey Barnhard scored eight with seven rebounds.

Barnhard, the 6’1 sophomore from San Diego, only averaged two points per game as a freshman but was an all-academic performer. The business marketing major is embracing her turn as a starter.

“I’m just excited to step into a bigger role this season,” Barnhard said, “and that the coaching staff has a little more faith in me as I step into my sophomore year. We were able to compete for a majority of the game (with UCLA). We are a team that has a lot of grit to step into a big game in a big arena, and we have the confidence to do so as we step into the rest of our season and play teams that may not be as good as UCLA, but games that are just as important.”

“Bailey has really improved this summer,” associate head coach Kellie Lewis said. Lewis is in her fifth year on the staff of 13th-year head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson.

“She probably had the least amount of minutes of the freshmen last year, but I think she is poised to have a really good sophomore year because of the work she has put in. Determination is the word I would use.”

Your business can reach over 3 million women’s sports fans every single month!

Here at The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, our audience is a collection of the smartest, most passionate women’s sports fans in the world. If your business has a mission to serve these fans, reach out to our team at BAlarie@theixsports.com to discuss ways to work together.

Williams was the Division II National Player of the Year last season at Cal State Dominguez. The 5’8 guard scored more than 16 points per game and led the Toros to the championship game.

 “I think my experience in leadership and being wherever my coach needs me to be and being a player who does whatever it takes to win,” Williams explained what she brings to the team. “I am already joining a winning organization, so I just hope to add to it to be even better.

“It felt amazing to be able to put the game day jersey on with my teammates. It was difficult because it’s a competition, but it felt great because we fought the whole 40 minutes. In Division I, you have more hours, so I am spending more time with coaches. In Division II, you have the gym, but your coaches can’t be in there with you as much. It’s helping to develop skill work. Also, the equipment and training room is amazing, there are so much more resources at the Division I level. I am looking forward to playing in our amazing arena.”

The communications major said she would like to do public relations for a company, such as Google, once she finishes playing basketball.

“(Nala) has been such a pleasant addition for us,” Lewis added. “She is one of the most coachable people you will ever meet and wants to succeed and do well. She defends, she shoots the three, she pushes tempo, and she can play with the ball in her hands.”

In addition to Williams, the Aztecs added four other players from the transfer portal. All came from Mountain West rivals. Sofia Kelemeni scored 9.3 points per game at San Jose State, Carlie Latta recorded 9.1 points per game at Utah State, Maria Konstantinidou formerly played at Fresno State, and Kennedy Lee at Nevada. While Kelemeni represents Greece internationally, Konstantinidou plays for Germany, where she was raised by Greek parents. The incoming freshmen are 5’11 guard Kendall Mosley from Texas and 6’4 center Aubrey Cook from Colorado.

The freshmen hope to replicate what Naomi Panganiban and Nat Martinez did on last year’s team that went 25-10 and 11-7 in the MWC. Both were named to the conference all-freshman team, with Panganiban scoring 10.3 points per game and Martinez adding 7.4. Panganiban tied with Vanessa De Jesus to lead the Philippine national team with 13.2 points per game at the FIBA Asia Cup this summer.

“Naomi is a little stud,” Lewis added. “She is small in stature, but there is nothing she can’t do, and she is extremely talented. She is confident and a dynamic player. I think she can do things on both sides of the basketball that not a lot of people can do.”

The IX Basketball, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom powered by The Next

The IX Basketball: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX Sports. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.

Later in November, SDSU will head to the Bahamas for games against Maryland Eastern Shore and Penn State. It hosts Pacific and is at Kansas State before tipping off the Mountain West schedule on Dec. 17 at Fresno State.

“We are really excited about our team,” Lewis added. “We have had this momentum building. Two years ago, we played in the conference championship game, and it set the tone for what this team wanted. Last year was a lot of fun. Now, the expectations are even higher for what we want to accomplish. These kids have really bought in and put in the time this summer. It’s been a pretty easy transition for us, even with all of the new players.”