Jan. 13, 2015
San Jose, Calif. -After dropping its first home game of the year on Saturday, the San José State women's basketball team hits the road this week to face the top-two teams in the Mountain West starting at Fresno State on Wednesday evening.
GAME 16
vs. Fresno State (12-3, 4-0 MW)
Wednesday, January 14, 7:00 p.m.
Save Mart Center, Fresno, Calif.
Streaming video is available on the Spartan Digital Network at www.sjsuspartans.com/video
Broadcast on KSJS-FM 90.5
Live stats available at www.sjsuspartans.com
LIVE STATS
Fans can view live stats of all San José State women's basketball games, home and away, by accessing the "Gametracker" feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the women's basketball schedule page to follow the action.
VIDEO STREAMING
Spartan Digital is your all-access passport to Spartan Athletics. For live and recorded video/audio of San José State women's basketball home, Mountain West (road and home) and select road contests, Spartan Digital is your home. Go to Spartan Digitalat top of the Spartans Athletics home page or go to www.sjsuspartans.com/video.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with all 16 of San José State's team through social media sites Twitter and Facebook. For Twitter go to @sjsuathletics and on Facebook become friends with Sammy Spartan.
The women's basketball Twitter handle is @sjswbb and Facebook page is /SanJoseStateWBB.
RADIO COVERAGE
Fans across the nation can now listen to every Spartans' women's home game via Stretch Internet Radio. KSJS-FM (90.5 FM, San Jose) also originates home broadcasts and select road contests.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TICKETS
Tickets for San José State women's basketball home games are free for all SJSU students with a valid student ID. Adult tickets are $5.00 and $3.00 for youth (12 and under).
Groups of 20 or more can buy discounted tickets at $3.00 per person by 5:00 p.m. the business day before the game via the Spartan Ticket Office at (408) 924-SJTX (7589) or (877) SJSUTIX (757-8849).
The Event Center Box Office opens two hours prior to tip-off for any weekend, holiday game or doubleheader and is open regular business hours (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) for weekday games or weekday doubleheaders.
PARKING
Parking for all San José State women's basketball games is in the University's Seventh Street Parking Garage. The Seventh Street Garage, located on the Northwest corner of San Salvador Street and Seventh Street, can be accessed through Seventh Street. Parking is $5.00.
CUNNIGAN NEARS SAN JOSÉ STATE SCORING RECORDS
With 45-points in two games last week, Ta'Rea Cunnigan (Sr., G, Winchester, Calif.) moved closer to becoming the program's career scoring leader. Entering the game at Fresno State her 1,738 career points are 22 behind all-time women's scoring leader Karen Mason (1,760 points from 1978-81) and 29 behind Ricky Berry (1,767 points from 1986-88) for the school's all-time record (men or women).
When Cunnigan passes Berry, she will become the 50th woman in Division I to top her school's career scoring list (men's and women's) according to records available from NCAA member institutions. Among those 50, she will be the fifth woman among Mountain West schools to lead her institution in career scoring.
FRESNO IS INHOSPITABLE TO THE SPARTANS
Their hosts have not treated the Spartans very well when they play in Fresno. In 33 games played on the Bulldogs home court, San José State has managed just eight wins. Six of those came in the first six times the teams met in Fresno, from the 1977-78 through the 1982-83 seasons. The last time the Spartans traveled to the valley and had a pleasant bus ride home came in the 2001-02 season. Fresno State has won the last 11 games on their home court in this series, including a 107-80 victory last year.
CUNNIGAN AMONG ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS IN THE NCAA
Among Division I women's basketball players,Ta'Rea Cunnigan (Sr., G, Winchester, Calif.) ranks second free throws made (485) and free throws attempted (656). She is 10th in steals (233). Her 1,468 field goal attempts are 12th most among active women players and she ranked 19th in field goals (570). Her 16.6/g career scoring average is the 15th highest among current players. Finally, Cunnigan is the eighth leading scorer among active players with 1,738 career points.
SJSU CONTINUE TO TOP MOUNTAIN WEST IN SCORING
San José State is scoring 85.1points per game, which leads the conference. The team is averaging 14.0 points more than its next closest rival (Boise State - 71.0 ppg). In addition to leading the Mountain West, San José State is the fifth highest scoring team in the nation behind DePaul (90.0 ppg), UConn (88.8 ppg), Baylor (86.2 ppg) and Notre Dame (85.4 ppg).
Against Columbia (11/16) the team set a program and conference record for points in a game, when they dropped 119 on the Lions, which is the fourth highest single-game point total in the NCAA this year. The Spartans have eclipsed 100 points in a game three times this year and have come away with a victory each time.
CAN YOU HANDLE PRESSURE...SPARTANS 6TH IN THE NCAA IN TURNOVER MARGIN
Through 15 games the Spartans have shown what their pressure defense is capable of doing. SJSU has forced its opponents to turn the ball over 346 times and in those, made 178 steals. San José State has made those opponent miscues pay off to the tune of a 325-198 advantage in points off turnovers. Nationally, the team ranks sixth in turnover margin at 7.53 and 19th in steals per game grabbing 11.9 per game. The team leads the Mountain West in both categories.
SPARTANS RANK 14TH IN THE NATION & TOPS IN THE MW IN MADE 3-POINTERS
San José State is hitting an average of 8.3 shots from beyond the arc per game, which ranks 14th in the nation and tops in the Mountain West, but taking and hitting threes are nothing new under head coach Jamie Craighead.
With 245 made 3-pointers and 793 attempts, the 2013-14 Spartans shattered the program's previous marks in each category. The previous record of 146 3-pointers in the 27 games (1999-00) was equaled in just 20 games (at UNLV 1/29) last season. In addition, they passed the previous record for attempts in a season (493 in 29 games in 2000-01) in that same game. Both marks set Mountain West Conference records as well.
MY OH MYZHANIQUE
Myzhanique Ladd (Fr., G, Seattle, Wash.), the 2013-14 Ms. Basketball in the state of Washington, leads the Spartan freshman with a 6.5 ppg average and has earned starts in nine of the team's 15 games this year. On the team, MyMy ranks second in FT% (.830) and FTA (47), fourth in assists (23), and fifth in steals (17). Her FT% ranks 80th in the nation.
SOPHOMORES STEP UP
In their second season, the three sophomores who started their careers at San José State are stepping up and providing solid contributions to the team.
Rachol West (So., F, Bakersfield, Calif.) has more than doubled her per game scoring average, from 3.3 to 8.1. It took West just 12 games to surpass her 29 game point total from a year ago. She ranks second on the team in 3-pointers (23) and is the leading shooter from distance (.348). A 19-point outburst against Sacramento State (12/22) in which she drained 5-of-8 treys and grabbed five rebounds in just 19 minutes of work earned her first Mountain West Women's Basketball Player of the Week honor.
Paris Baird (So., F, Van Nuys, Calif.) surpassed her point total from her freshman season in just 10 games this year. Her scoring average has more than doubled from 1.4 to 3.5 points per game. Averaging just one minute more per game than in 2013-14, Baird has already passed totals from her freshman campaign in shots, 3-pointers and free throws.
Jasmine Smith (So., F, Burbank, Calif.) ranks second in the conference among sophomores at 9.5 points per game. Her scoring average is slightly off from last season (10.8 ppg in 2013-14), but she is doing it in seven fewer minutes per game (down from 23 last year to 15.5 per game this year).
EVERYBODY BRINGS SOMETHING TO THE PARTY!
In 2014-15, San José State is getting production up and down its lineup. Each of the 11 Spartans who have played in the first 15 games is averaging double-digit minutes. The bench has scored 498 of the team's 1,276 points; 39% of the total production. San José State has six games in which 11 players contributed in the scoring column and five games in which 10 players scored.
NEWCOMER BRINGING IT AS WELL
Nyre Harris (Jr., G, Stockton, Calif.) completed her year in residency at the conclusion of the fall term. In the six games, five of which were starts, Harris is averaging 21.0 minutes and 8.0 points.
CUNNIGAN ABOUT TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP UP IN ANOTHER CAREER CATEGORY
In addition to the San José State scoring records, in which Ta'Rea Cunnigan (Sr., G, Winchester, Calif.) trails Karen Mason (1,760 points, 1978-81) by 22 points, she is on the cusp of moving up the career 3-pointers list.
Cunnigan is one made 3-pointers from tying Cricket Williams for sixth place on the program's career 3-pointers list (114).
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs are 4-0 in Mountain West play and enters its match-up against the Spartans with a 12-3 record. They are 8-0 in the Save Mart Center and averaging 67.4 ppg at home and in six games against Division I opponents are winning games on their home court by an average of 10 points.
Fresno State is under the direction of first -year head coach Jaime White. Entering the 2014-15 season, White had a 117-128 record at Northern Colorado in eight years as that program's head coach.
The Bulldogs' offense is led by senior forward Alex Sheedy, who tops the squad in points (17.5/g) and is second in rebounds (6.9/g). Bego Faz Davalos, a freshman center, leads the team in rebounds (7.5/g) and blocks (2.9/g). Senior guard Raven Fox is dishing out 2.2 assists per outing.
This will be the 71st meeting between these programs in which Fresno State own a dominant 51-19 advantage.