When coach Stacie Terry-Hutson discussed the strengths of San Diego State’s women’s basketball team earlier this month, three words immediately came to mind.

“Athletic, deep and talented,” she said.

Terry-Hutson might want to add “opportunistic” and “defensive-minded” to the list after Sunday’s 74-59 victory over Boise State in the opener of Mountain West Conference play at Viejas Arena.

Although the Broncos entered the game ranked among the top-10 nationally in blocked shots and featuring three strong forwards, the Aztecs outscored Boise State 48-20 in the lane and finished with six blocks to the Broncos’ one.

“If you take one thing away from us, we’ll take something else,” said Aztec forward Cali Clark, who had four blocked shots and four steals as the Aztecs improved to 12-2 overall against the 10-4 Broncos.

“Today it was about the defense and getting the ball inside,” said Terry-Hutson. “As this game developed, we saw opportunities inside and we took advantage of that.”

Forward Adryana Quezada came off the bench to lead Aztecs in scoring with 19 points off 9-for-12 shooting despite feeling under the weather. Forward Kim Villlalobos had 15 points and a game high 10 rebounds while Clark had eight points and eight rebounds to go with her steals and blocks.

“Cali is our traffic cop in the lane,” said Terry-Hutson. “And Quezada had her best game on defense.”

The Aztecs started fast and never looked back, leading for all but two minutes after scoring nine straight points while building a 19-10 lead while deploying 11 players in the first quarter. The Aztecs led by as many as 17 points in the first half before a Sunday afternoon turnout of 2,565.

The Aztecs led by double digits except for one minute in the third quarter. All 18 of the Aztecs’ third-quarter points were scored in the paint with Quezada, Clark and Villalobos accounting for 14.

“It was a good all-around day,” said Terry-Hutson. “I was proud of what we showed today. We got some big stops that allowed us to take control of the game. We played well and I was pleased with the support. It was a good day for the program.”

While San Diego State was shooting 52.7% from the floor, Boise State shot just 35.6 percent and went 9-for-28 from the field in the first half. The Aztecs also got 33 points from the bench – including Quezada’s 19 and eight from freshman guard Naomi Panganiban (La Jolla Country Day).

The Aztecs have two goals this season, winning the Mountain West Conference and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. Sunday was a step in the right direction.

San Diego State defeated Boise State 72-69 in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament last year and both teams opened conference play with veteran squads. Sunday was the only scheduled meeting between the teams this season.

“Boise State is a fantastic team,” said Terry-Hutson. “We knew this was going to be a difficult game. I’m glad we don’t have to go to Boise this season.”

The Aztecs play at Colorado State Wednesday before returning home to host New Mexico Jan 4.