Jan. 5, 2016
San Jose, Calif. - The San José State women's basketball team, coming off successive wins to open Mountain West Conference play, host the San Diego State Aztecs on Wednesday evening on Walt McPherson Court.
Game # 14
San José State Spartans (4-9, 2-0 MW)
at
San Diego State Aztecs (6-7, 1-1 MW)
Wednesday, January 6, 7:00 p.m.
The Event Center, San Jose, Calif.
Streaming video and 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 theGametracker 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 and the majority of Mountain West road contests, Spartan Digital is your home. Go to Spartan Digital at top of the Spartans Athletics home page or go to www.sjsuspartans.com/video.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with Spartans women's basketball on all our social media platforms. The team's Twitter handle is @sjswbb, Facebook page is /SanJoseStateWBB, Instagram is sjsu_wbb.
RADIO COVERAGE
Fans across the nation and internationally can listen to every Spartans' women's home game and select road games via Stretch Internet Radio. Jess Knaster and Ta'Rea Cunnigan, the leading scorer in San José State basketball history, bring you all the action. You can access the broadcast through the women's basketball schedule page at www.sjsuspartans.com.
2-0 IN CONFERENCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME
With wins at Utah State (86-74 on12/30) and over Air Force (81-60 on 1/2) to open conference play, the Spartans have started league action 2-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season. That year the team opened Western Athletic Conference play 4-0. They have started three other times with a 4-0 record and once, in 1981-82 opened 5-0 in NorCal League play.
The best start for SJSU in a conference season came in both the 1977-78 and 1978-79 season's when the team went an undefeated 12-0 in the NorCal.
IT'S LADD TIME
MyMy Ladd (So., G, Seattle, Wash.) has emerged as a dangerous option for the Spartans on the offensive end of the court. A career 5.0 ppg scorer, in the last six games Ladd has tallied four double figure scoring games and averaged 10.0 ppg over the stretch while grabbing 5.0 rebounds. In the last five games she has shot .750 from the floor, .750 from three-point range and .620 from the line.
RAMOS ... TIP OF THE SPEAR
Dezz Ramos (Jr., PG, West Valley, Utah) is showing why the voters for MW Newcomer of the Year got their selection correct. She leads the team and is second in the Mountain West in scoring at 19.6 point per game. In 12 games Ramos has reached double figures 12 times, and in six games has scored at least 20 points. Versus South Dakota (12/8) she erupted for 31 points. It was her Spartan high and the second best single-game scoring effort in her collegiate career.
MORE ON DEZZ
In addition to her scoring prowess, Dezz Ramos (Jr., PG, West Valley, Utah) is among the elite in the Mountain West in several other categories. Entering Wednesday's game against San Diego State she ranks second the conference in three-point field goals (2.7/g), three-point percentage (.457), third in free throw percentage (.870), fifth in assists (4.3/g) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3:1).
RIANA RAMPS IT UP IN MW PLAY
In the two conference games that SJSU has played, senior Riana Byrd (Sr., C, Richmond, Calif.) has dramatically upped her game. Her points per game have gone from 7.6 to 13.0. Rebounds are up from 5.7 to 11.0; blocks from 1.0 to 3.5 and steals from 0.5 to 2.0.
FROM BEYOND THE ARC THERE ARE ONLY GREEN LIGHTS
In 13 games the Spartans have hoisted 341 threes and made 112, an average of 8.6 made a game. All three numbers lead the Mountain West. Nationally, the team ranks 19th (3-PTA), 18th (3-PT/g) and 16th (3-PTM).
Individually, Dezz Ramos (Jr., PG, West Valley, Utah) is second in the MW in three-pointers made (32), three-point percentage (.457) and three-pointers per game (2.7). Nationally, she ranks 81st, 16th and 47th in those three categories, respectively.
HARRIS...SENIOR LEADING
Nyre Harris (Sr., G, Stockton, Calif.) is a team captain and is leading by example. Harris tops the team with 2.7 steals per game and 47 defensive rebounds. In addition, she second in minutes (28.3/g) and assists (33), third in total rebounds (5.5/g) and offensive rebounds (25). Harris has started every game and is second on the team at 10.9 point per game. In the opener, against Southern Oregon (11/13), Harris picked up the first double double of her college career scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. At Pacific (12/12) she did it again with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Harris, a 5-8 shooting guard, is second in the conference in steals the 20th leading scorer and rebounder in the Mountain West.
BYRD WATCHING
Riana Byrd (Sr., C, Richmond, Calif.) is a good season away from becoming just the second player in San José State women's basketball history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a career. Averaging both 9.0 points and rebounds per game over her three years at SJSU, Byrd currently has with 920 points and 898 rebounds. At her current pace she could reach both milestones and join the 1,000/1,000 club later this season.
OFFENSE ANYONE?
Through 13 games, San José State is averaging 78.8 points a game, which leads the Mountain West and is 7.8 points per outing better than the second ranked team, Utah State. SJSU's scoring rate is the 25th highest in the nation.
MORE BYRD WATCHING
Senior Riana Byrd (Sr., C, Richmond, Calif.) began 2015-16, 182 points from becoming the 14th member of the program's 1,000-point club and entering the game against San Diego State sits 80 points from becoming the 14th player to reach the milestone.
Byrd, who has averaged 8.7 rebounds a game her career, is 102 rebounds from reaching 1,000. She is 49 boards from passing Rhoda Chew (946 from 1982-85) for second place on the program's career list and 165 from passing Banks (1,062) for the all-time record. In addition, Byrd holds the career record for blocked shots (182).
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs come into the game with an 6-7 overall record, 1-1 in Mountain West play. They are averaging just 59.5 points per game and have been outscored by an average of 4.5 points per game. In five road games, they are 2-3, but defeated Wyoming in Laramie 84-77 to open MW play. Last Saturday, Utah State beat SDSU 55-36 on the Aztecs home floor.
McKynzie Fort leads the San Diego State offense with a 14.7 points per game average and is the only player averaging double figure scoring this year. In addition, Fort tops the team in steals (2.1/g). Deidra Smith and Ariell Bostick lead the team with 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, respectively.
Stacie Terry is in her third season leading the Aztecs program. She brought a 25-36 career record as a Division I head coach into the 2015-16 season.
THE SERIES WITH SAN DIEGO STATE
This will be the 24th meeting between the Spartans and Aztecs. San Diego State leads in the all-time series 19-4. In the nine meetings in San Jose, SJSU is just 1-8 with its lone win coming in the 2000-01 season. Since the Spartans joined the Mountain West in 2013-14, SDSU has won all three meetings.