By Austin Badzik (@austinbadzik15):
San Jose State women’s basketball tips off Friday against No. 10 UCLA.
The Spartans have their work cut out for them this season as they lost four seniors that accounted for 70 percent of their scoring.
A big year is expected from senior guard Myzhanique Ladd who is the only returning starter on a roster that is 80 percent underclassmen.
Senior forward Hallie Gennet and junior forward Andrea Kohlhaas are the only two other returning upperclassman on the team.
In SJSU’s lone preseason game, it cruised to victory over Stanislaus State with Ladd recording 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in just 20 minutes. The senior will be needed in a big way this year if the Spartans want to be competitive.
The Spartans are going to miss star point guard Dezz Ramos, who was the nation’s fourth leading scorer in 2016-17.
But looking forward, the Bruins will be one of the toughest teams SJSU will face this year.
UCLA went 25-9 last year and averaged 74.1 points per game. A team that was so dominant it beat opponents by more than 10 points per game. The Bruins made it to Sweet 16 last season before getting knocked out by No.1 Uconn.
A player to look out for is senior Jordin Canada, the guard from Windward High School, led her team in three categories last year with 17.8 points, 7.1 assists and 2.5 steals a night.
It’s going to be a uphill battle for the Spartans to start the season as they have a lot of young players that need to come together in short matter of time.
The Spartans season will tip off at 7 p.m. on Friday night as they look to upset No.10 UCLA.