By Allison Covey (@allisoncovey):
Returning home after a loss to New Mexico and coming off a mid-week bye, San Jose State women’s basketball looks to get back on track against Colorado State for the second time this season Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans (6-16, 3-9 MW) are trying to avoid their sixth straight loss while the Rams (17-7, 9-4 MW) are aiming for their seventh straight win.
In the Dec. 30 meeting against the Rams, there was a lid on the basket for SJSU as it was held to just 48 points, two away from a season-low.
Since that game, the Spartans are 2-7 overall and averaging only 66 points per contest.
A large part has to do with rebounds. The Spartans are losing the rebound battle by an average of 15.3 per game when they lose and top the rebounding category by 4.2 when they win.
In the current five-game skid, the Spartans are scoring just 60.8 PPG — and don’t expect SJSU to be to far from that come Saturday — as the Rams are one of the top defenses in the country, allowing just 54.9 PPG on 33.8 percent shooting.
Their inability to play consistent has shot them in the foot, as good nights on the boards translate to bad nights on ball security. Then good nights in the turnover department are the same nights the ball’s not going in.
Sophomore guard Taylor Turney’s field goal percentage has taken a serious dip in the current five-game losing streak, as she has hit her point average just once in the last four games and hasn’t been able to take control of any of the last few games at any point.
Alongside her, senior guard Myzhanique Ladd has had a rough couple of games as well, and it seems as if she’s lost a bit of confidence.
Back at home, the Spartans need the energy from those two back if the team wants to insert themselves into the win column.
Colorado State’s senior guard Hannah Tvrdy leads the team in scoring at 10 points, to go along with six rebounds a game.
Tip off is set for 2 p.m. at the Event Center.