Hutchinson left San Diego State after suffering a major knee injury in her sophomore year.

[8] As a senior in 1983, she set the Class AA girls state tournament single-game scoring record with 41 points.

[14][15] Recruited by most major colleges, Hutchinson narrowed her choices to San Diego State, UCLA, and Louisiana Tech.

[16] She opted to attend San Diego State University, where Riggins had recently been hired as the new coach.

[18] Hutchinson and Riggins, along with their Lincoln High teammates Toni Wallace and Mesie Jointer,[19] joined an Aztecs program that went 10–18 the prior year.

[2][17][23] Her 898 total points stood as a Division I freshman record for four decades until it was broken by JuJu Watkins (920) in 2024.

[24] The second-leading scorer in the country,[25] Hutchinson was named a second-team All-American by the Shreveport Journal, and was voted their "Outstanding Freshman".

[21] Hutchinson was a first-team all-conference selection in the WCAA, receiving the second-most votes behind Cheryl Miller of the USC Trojans.

[27] She set the Aztecs single-game scoring record with 46 points against Cal State Fullerton,[28][29] including 35 in the second half.

In their rematch in a sold-out Peterson Gym at San Diego State, Hutchinson outscored Miller 29–28.

[6] In 1984–85, Hutchinson was named a preseason All-American by Street & Smith;[20] however, she underwent multiple knee surgeries during the season.

[32] Days later on December 19, Hutchinson had arthroscopic surgery to remove torn ligaments, and was expected to be out for three to four weeks.