FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Party like it's 1979.
In a season that has been filled with broken records and program milestones, San José State continued its historic start to the year with a 58-53 victory at Colorado State on Saturday afternoon. The win gave the team its fourth road victory to start conference play, a first for the program since the 1978-79 season.
The Spartans (11-6, 5-1 Mountain West) were paced by a pair of super sophomores in the backcourt in this one. Ayzhiana Basallo led all scorers with 26 points while Raziya Potter tallied her second career double-double with a career-high 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
Have an afternoon, @raziya_24.
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) January 11, 2020
This layup gives the sophomore a career-high 19 points and puts the Spartans in front for the first time in the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/UaXHuASPbw
Forwards Tyra Whitehead (10 rebounds) and Cydni Lewis (9) also came up big on the glass for their team.
"I think I was more focused than I have been in other games," said Potter when asked about her strong showing. "I was just out there playing basketball and everything worked out for us."
Saturday's game featured seven lead changes and six ties as SJSU rallied from as many as 11 points down. The win marks the team's sixth victory of the season when trailing at halftime.
The deficit was 31-22 at the half, but that margin was quickly erased by a team that has been strong in the third quarter all year long. Sparked by a Basallo three-pointer and capped on an ankle-breaking, pull-up jumper, San José State emerged from the locker rooms and went on an 18-5 run to grab a 40-36 lead late in the third stanza.
Ayzhiana put her on SKATES?? ??#SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/SLgqJlqyJG
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) January 11, 2020
The contest would go back and forth from there with the Spartans ultimately grabbing the lead for good on another Basallo jumper with two minutes remaining.
Up 52-50 at that point, the visitors from Silicon Valley wouldn't surrender another field goal the rest of the way. They also hit the glass with efficiency down the stretch, limiting the Rams chances to get back into the game.
Potter secured her eighth rebound of the day with 1:52 to play, then grabbed another on Colorado State's final possession to seal the deal on her first-career double-double in conference play.
Meanwhile, it was Basallo on the other end who secured the victory with some clutch shooting at the charity stripe. The nation's most productive point guard went 4-for-4 at the line in the final 18 seconds, putting the finishing touches on San José State's 58-53 victory.
"We're progressing every game," Potter said. "Right now we're just taking it day by day and game by game. Our chemistry has been there for a while and now everyone is doing what they need to do and sticking to their roles."
This marks the team's fourth straight road win to start conference play. This is the program's first team to accomplish that feat since the 1978-79 campaign, when the Spartans won at San Francisco, Santa Clara, Stanford and Fresno State in NorPac action.
In addition, SJSU's 5-1 start to Mountain West play matches the program's best six-game start to conference play since the 1981-82 season.
The Spartans return to San José now for a two-game homestand that tips off on Wednesday against UNLV. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center.