Dec. 8, 2015
San Jose, Calif. - Dezz Ramos scored a season-high 31 points, but the San José State women's basketball team couldn't climb out of a 17-point halftime deficit and lost to the South Dakota Coyotes 87-77 in the Event Center on Tuesday night.
Ramos' total was three off her career-best, a 34-point outburst against Utah Valley while playing at Weber State in the 2013-14 season. The junior out of West Valley, Utah, hit 12-for-18 from the field, including four three-pointers and dished out seven assists.
Joining Ramos in double figures were Jasmine Smith with 18 and Nyre Harris who had 10 points. Smith, a junior from Burbank, went 8-for-10 from the field and hit a pair of free throws. Harris grabbed six rebounds, had three assists and two steals in addition to her scoring.
In a little over four minutes into the game, the Spartans (1-6) found themselves in a 12-3 hole. They hit just one of their first five shots while South Dakota came out firing on all cylinders, going 5-for-8 in building its nine-point advantage.
A Ramos three halted the Coyotes run and sparked San José State to a 12-6 spurt which cut the deficit to three, 18-15 with 3:18 left in the first. In what would become a theme on the night, the 'Yotes hit back-to-back threes on their next two possessions. Whenever SJSU built momentum, South Dakota (6-3) would halt it with one of its 12 three-pointers on the night.
South Dakota shot 55 percent for the half and led 54-37. The Spartans had a good half from the floor, 52 percent, but committed 20 turnovers which the 'Yotes turned into 20 points the other way.
The Spartans changed from a man-to-man defense to a matchup zone in the second half and cut the South Dakota shooting percentage down to 29 percent in the third quarter and 35 percent for the half. The Coyotes made only six buckets in the third period, but half of them were from beyond the arc. SJSU, despite shooting 63 percent (10-for-16), was only able to trim six points off the lead by the end of the period.
Two minutes into the fourth, the Spartans got the lead down to single digits for the first time since 41 seconds were left in the first period. But back-to-back threes put the lead back to double digits and South Dakota went on to the 10-point victory.
The Spartans enjoyed their best shooting night of the year hitting 53 percent (30-for-57) from the floor, but committed 22 turnovers, which led to 32 points for South Dakota. That and the 12 threes the 'Yotes made, to the Spartans six, were the difference in the game.
South Dakota had three players in double figures led by Tai Hemiller's 19 points. She also led the team with six rebounds. Nicole Seekamp had 15 points and 11 assists and Jasmine Trimboli also contributed 15 points.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday, December 12 at 2:00 p.m. They square off against the UOP Tigers in Stockton.
South Dakota vs San Jose State
12/08/15 7:00 p.m. at San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
At San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
SOUTH DAKOTA 87, SAN JOSE STATE 77
SOUTH DAKOTA ((6-3))
Hemiller, Tia 8-13 0-1 19; Trimboli, Jasmine 6-10 0-0 15; Seekamp, Nicole
6-16 1-1 15; Stewart, Kelly 1-4 5-6 8; McCloud, Margaret 4-6 0-2 8; Duffy,
Caitlin 2-7 0-0 6; Arens, Allison 2-3 1-1 5; Arens, Bridget 1-2 3-4 5;
Bradley, Jaycee 1-2 0-0 3; Liveringhouse, Kate 1-3 1-2 3; Fogg, Abigail 0-1
0-0 0; Hoff, Heidi 0-2 0-0 0; Homoly, Madeline 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 11-17
87.
SAN JOSE STATE ((1-6))
Ramos, Dezz 12-18 3-3 31; Smith, Jasmine 8-10 2-4 18; Harris, Nyre 4-9 2-3
10; Matthews, Kalie 3-3 1-1 8; Byrd, Riana 2-6 3-4 7; Vann, Emily 1-2 0-0 3;
Stevens, Ellie 0-4 0-0 0; West, Rachol 0-4 0-0 0; Baird, Paris 0-1 0-0 0;
Kohlhaas, Andrea 0-0 0-0 0; Ladd, Myzhanique 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-57 11-15
77.
South Dakota.................. 30 24 15 18 - 87
San Jose State................ 20 17 21 19 - 77
3-point goals--South Dakota 12-25 (Trimboli, Jasmine 3-4; Hemiller, Tia 3-6;
Duffy, Caitlin 2-5; Seekamp, Nicole 2-4; Bradley, Jaycee 1-1; Stewart, Kelly
1-3; Hoff, Heidi 0-1; Arens, Allison 0-1), San Jose State 6-16 (Ramos, Dezz
4-5; Matthews, Kalie 1-1; Vann, Emily 1-2; Stevens, Ellie 0-1; West, Rachol
0-3; Baird, Paris 0-1; Harris, Nyre 0-3). Fouled out--South Dakota-None, San
Jose State-STEVENS, Ellie. Rebounds--South Dakota 34 (McCloud, Margaret 6;
Hemiller, Tia 6), San Jose State 31 (Stevens, Ellie 8). Assists--South
Dakota 23 (Seekamp, Nicole 11), San Jose State 22 (Ramos, Dezz 7). Total
fouls--South Dakota 17, San Jose State 18. Technical fouls--South
Dakota-None, San Jose State-None. A-217