By Sofia Wright—Content Editor
For the second time this season, the San Jose State women’s basketball team has dropped two in a row.
The Spartans (15-8, 9-3 MW) were up 41-36 at halftime before Nevada (12-12, 5-8 MW) ultimately pulled away and won 80-76.
There were a total of 13 lead changes and 11 ties. Neither team held a lead of more than eight points.
“I thought it was a pretty evenly matched game,” said head coach Jamie Craighead. “We can definitely score more than that though. We played a little slow offensively and we could have worked the ball inside a little more there in the second half.”
Three Spartans finished in double-figures. Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo led all scorers with 20 points and forward Tyra Whitehead added 17, but it wasn’t enough. Senior Fieme’a Hafoka added 12 points while grabbing seven rebounds in one of her most productive games of the season.
Stunted Shooting
SJSU finished the day shooting 45.8 percent from the field, but were 33.3 percent and 0 of 3 from three in the fourth quarter. The team finished 16 for 20 from the free throw line.
“We didn’t get the ball to [Tyra] enough in the second half on the block,” Craighead said. “[Nevada] was perfect from the free-throw line, and if we would have hit our free throws … I expect our kids to put those free ones in.”
The Spartans saw life in the second quarter and finished strong going into halftime. Basallo was 5 of 10 from the field, and Whitehead was 4 of 5. Basallo would only take three more shots the rest of the game.
“We all forget that [Ayzhiana] is a sophomore,” said Craighead. “She’s not going to be perfect.”
Basallo also took on seven of the Spartans’ 16 turnovers.
Bench Struggles
Early in the season, questions were raised regarding the team’s depth.
By the end of the game, SJSU’s bench was outscored 33-9.
“[Cyndi]’s got to make her shots,” said Craighead. “Danae’s gotta shoot it more.”
Junior guard Danae Marquez scored two points on four shots. The junior was also 0 for 1 from beyond the arc.
Fired Up for Fresno State
After dropping two in a row, the Spartans sit in second in the conference. They will face Fresno State, who is 13-0 in conference, next in Fresno.
The game is a homecoming for Marquez and guard Megan Anderson. In years past, SJSU has split in their matchups with Fresno State, so they are due for a win here.
“We want to kill them,” Basallo said. “They’re on top and we want to get em’.”
Tip-off against the Bulldogs is 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
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