Nov. 27, 2015
Pullman, Wash. - Junior Dezz Ramos scored 21 points to lead the San Jose State women's basketball team, but Washington State freshman Borislava Hristova poured in 30 to lead the Washington State Cougars to a 95-80 victory over the Spartans Friday evening.
"(Hristova) plays on all three levels," Craighead said. "She can shoot it, has a mid-range game and can get to the rim, but this game came down to a couple of possessions each quarter. They outscored by four, three, four and four points in each of the four quarters.
"I told the team after the game that it was really two possessions in each period that we have to say 'okay, we're tired but they are more tired than we are.' At those points we have to get a stop and we've got to run. I thought we gave up some offensive rebounds that we need to have off (Washington State) missed which could have stopped their momentum at critical times."
In the first four minutes the Spartans hit everything they threw at the rim, going 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line. Aniya Baker sank a pair of three pointers and off the bench, Dezz Ramos hit two free throws and then back-to-back shot from beyond the arc as the team built an 18-9 lead with just three and a half minutes in.
"We looked good in practice yesterday and had a lot of energy today in shoot around," Craighead said. "I thought we came out and played great. The first five minutes we were ready to go."
Hristova, whose 30 points are a career-high, scored her team's first nine and was 5-for-5 from the field, for 15 points in the first 10 minutes.
"We felt that Washington State wanted to play a slower game. When they made some shots at the beginning. I thought that would bode well for us because then they would continue to play at our pace."
However, the Spartans shooting cooled off. They closed the quarter hitting just 3-for-14 from the field and trailed 28-24 heading the second period.
Consecutive layups by Kalie Matthews and Ramos tied the game at 28-28, but four buckets on the Cougars next six possessions opened an eight advantge, 36-28. The Spartans battled back and after Matthews, who scored six points in the game, hit her second bucket of the quarter, SJSU was back to within a basket at 41-39 with 3:23 left before halftime. However, Washington State ended the period with a 7-2 run and took a 48-41 lead into the locker room.
WSU extended its lead to 56-45 in the first two and a half minutes of the third period. Ellie Stevens then began a 10-0 run for SJSU with a three from the top of the arc. A steal by Riana Byrd led to another three-pointer, this time by Emily Vann. Two possessions later, Paris Baird missed a layup, then stole the rebound from a defender Cougar and laid it back in. Ramos, whose 21 points are her high in a Spartans uniform, capped the run with jumper and the 11-point deficit was down to one, 56-55 with just over five minutes left in the third.
The teams traded baskets for the next two minutes. But to close the period, Washington State was able to able to build an eight-point lead and delivered what might have been a dagger to the heart in the form of an Alexys Swedlund banked three-pointer from 30 feet out. It gave the Cougars an 11-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The WSU lead grew to 13 points with six minutes to play. A pair of Byrd layups sandwiched around a Rachol West three, cut the deficit to six, 83-77, with less than four minutes to go. But Hristova keyed an 8-0 run over the following three minutes and Washington State went on to a 15-point win.
In addition to Ramos' 21 points, Byrd scored 12 and Jasmine Smith added 10. Byrd, Myzhanique Ladd and Nyre Harris had five rebounds each. Harris also added four assists and four steals.
"There were some good things to take out of this game," Craighead said. "We competed for 40 minutes and had some people who played their best basketball of the year. Kalie Matthews and Dezz Ramos played really well tonight and showed what they are capable of. Riana gave us good minutes and, even though it didn't really show up in the box score. (Myzhanique Ladd) played really well.
"This was a possession game and in the end that's what won it for them. They had a couple more possessions where they executed and we didn't."
San José State put a wrap on its two-game road trip to the Pacific Northwest on Monday in Eugene, Oregon. The Spartans play the Oregon Ducks in Matthew Knight Arena with tip off scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
San Jose State vs Washington State
11/27/15 7 p.m. at Pullman, Wash. (Beasley Coliseum)
At Pullman, Wash. (Beasley Coliseum)
WASHINGTON STATE 95, SAN JOSE STATE 80
SAN JOSE STATE (1-3, 0-0 MWC)
Ramos, Dezz 6-17 6-7 21; Byrd, Riana 6-10 0-2 12; Smith, Jasmine 4-6 2-3 10;
West, Rachol 3-13 0-0 9; Baker, Aniya 3-13 0-0 8; Matthews, Kalie 3-4 0-0 6;
Stevens, Ellie 2-5 0-0 5; Vann, Emily 1-6 0-0 3; Harris, Nyre 1-3 0-0 2;
Baird, Paris 1-2 0-0 2; Ladd, Myzhanique 1-2 0-0 2; Kohlhaas, Andrea 0-2 0-0
- Totals 31-83 8-12 80.
WASHINGTON STATE (5-0, 0-0 Pac-12)
Hristova, Borislava 12-19 3-4 30; Swedlund, Alexys 5-17 2-2 16; Brown,
Louise 4-7 2-2 12; Awa, Dawnyelle 4-8 2-2 11; Cooks, Mariah 3-8 2-2 8;
Pavlopoulou, Pinelop 3-3 1-2 8; Kostourkova, Maria 3-7 0-1 6; Blanaru,
Bianca 1-2 0-0 2; Edmondson, Taylor 1-6 0-0 2; Hailey, Caila 0-1 0-0 0;
Kmetovska, Ivana 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 36-81 12-15 95.
San Jose State................ 24 17 22 17 - 80
Washington State.............. 28 20 26 21 - 95
3-point goals--San Jose State 10-36 (Ramos, Dezz 3-8; West, Rachol 3-10;
Baker, Aniya 2-8; Vann, Emily 1-6; Stevens, Ellie 1-2; Kohlhaas, Andrea
0-2), Washington State 11-31 (Swedlund, Alexys 4-12; Hristova, Borislava
3-7; Brown, Louise 2-3; Pavlopoulou, Pinelop 1-1; Awa, Dawnyelle 1-3;
Edmondson, Taylor 0-3; Cooks, Mariah 0-2). Fouled out--San Jose State-None,
Washington State-None. Rebounds--San Jose State 39 (Byrd, Riana 5; HARRIS,
Nyre 5; Ladd, Myzhanique 5), Washington State 63 (Cooks, Mariah 12).
Assists--San Jose State 13 (Harris, Nyre 4), Washington State 19 (Edmondson,
Taylor 5). Total fouls--San Jose State 15, Washington State 11. Technical
fouls--San Jose State-None, Washington State-None. A-632