By Richy Zajic — Senior Content Editor
The Spartans seemed to have the rivalry game versus the Bulldogs in the bag on Wednesday, until a late-game catastrophe happened and the Bulldogs secured a 78-76 victory.
San Jose State (15-9, 9-4 MW) was holding onto a 76-74 lead with 31 seconds to play and they had possession of the ball, forcing Fresno State (21-4, 14-0 MW) to foul until the Spartans would need to shoot free throws.
After successfully inbounding the ball three times consecutively, the fourth inbound pass was stolen and taken down the court for a layup by the Bulldogs, and the game was tied 76-76.
The Spartans would go on to miss a jumper on the other end, followed by a Bulldog timeout.
FSU would drop in another layup to take the lead 78-76, which would not be answered by the Spartans.
The Bulldogs secured the Mountain West regular season title with this victory.
Despite the agony for SJSU at the end of the night, there was a definite bright spot in this game for the Spartans.
Junior forward Tyra Whitehead had a career-high performance with 28 points, not to mention she also grabbed 12 boards.
On a night in which Spartans’ leading-scorer sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo was struggling offensively (4 pts, 1-8 FG), Whitehead certainly picked up the slack.
This was Whitehead’s tenth double-double on the season, and the Bulldogs really had no answer for her.
For the Bulldogs, there were three top performers of the night.
The duo of freshman guards, and sisters, Haley and Hanna Cavinder certainly came to play. Haley finished with 21 points and 10 boards, and Hanna ended with 20 points of her own.
Junior forward Maddi Utti was another key player in the win for the Bulldogs, as she contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Spartans’ next game will be on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. versus Air Force (5-19, 3-10 MW) at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
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