Jan. 6, 2016
San Jose, Calif. â€" The San Jose State women's basketball team, trailing 59-53 after three quarters, shot 69 percent (9-of-16) in the fourth and defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 78-73 on Wednesday night in The Event Center.
The win moves the Spartans to 3-0 in Mountain West action and marks the first time the team has won its first three conference games since the 2005-06 season.
The Spartans (5-9, 3-0 MW) had four players in double figures led by Riana Byrd's second straight double double. She finished with 17 points, on 8-of-12 shooting, 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Her layup with 12 seconds to play made it a two-possession game and secured the win for SJSU. Since the start of conference play, Byrd has more than doubled her season average for points and rebounds. In three games she is averaging 14 point and 11 rebounds per game.
Dezz Ramos led the Spartans with 22 points. The MW's second leading scorer coming into the game, she had eight points in the first period, which helped propel the Spartans to a 31-22 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Nyre Harris, who had 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the game, scored 10 in the first quarter. But contributed eight rebounds and had five assists over the final three quarters.
As hot as Ramos, Harris and the Spartans were in the first period, they were that cold in the second.
The San José State went from shooting 46 percent in the first period to just 28 percent in the second and saw SDSU turn a nine-point deficit into a seven-point advantage, 48-41, by half time.
San Diego State (6-8, 1-2 MW) came out in the third period and pushed its lead to a 13 points, 54-41, in the first minute and a half, but the Spartans went on a four-minute, 9-0 run keyed by six points from Byrd and when the quarter ended SJSU had trimmed the Aztecs lead back to six points, 59-53.
Byrd and Myzhanique Ladd, who finished with 10 points, each had a pair of buckets in a 8-0 run to open the fourth quarter. The spurt gave the Spartans a 61-59 lead with 7:38 to play.
After SDSU tied the game at 61-61, Emily Vann hit one of two three-pointers she made on the night to put the San José State back in front for good. The Spartans hit five-of-six free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
For the game SJSU outshot the Aztecs 43 percent (29-of-68) to 37 percent (27-of-73). Each team had 44 rebounds and 17 assists.
SDSU had three players in double figures led by McKynzie Fort's 16 points. Deidra Smith and Geena Gomez had 15 points each.
The Spartans go on the road Saturday to face the Colorado State Rams. Tip off in Fort Collins, Colo. is set for 2:00 p.m.
San Diego State vs San Jose State
01/06/16 7:00 p.m. at San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
At San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
SAN JOSE STATE 78, SAN DIEGO STATE 73
SAN DIEGO STATE (6-8 1-2 MW)
FORT, McKynzie 6-15 4-4 16; SMITH, Deidra 6-10 3-4 15; GOMEZ, Geena 4-12 3-6
15; GREENHOUSE, Cheyenne 4-7 0-0 8; THORDERSON, Lexy 2-7 0-0 6; ELLISON,
Kymberly 2-4 0-0 6; HARVEY, Ahjalee 2-11 0-0 4; BRANDON, Aleiah 1-4 0-0 2;
BOSTICK, Ariell 0-2 1-2 1; HERD, Kylie 0-0 0-0 0; GOMEZ, Arantxa 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 27-73 11-16 73.
SAN JOSE STATE (5-9, 3-0 MW)
Ramos, Dezz 7-18 6-6 22; Byrd, Riana 8-12 1-1 17; Harris, Nyre 2-10 5-6 11;
Ladd, Myzhanique 5-8 0-0 10; Smith, Jasmine 4-9 0-2 8; Vann, Emily 2-4 0-0
6; Stevens, Ellie 1-4 1-2 4; West, Rachol 0-3 0-0 0; Baird, Paris 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 29-68 13-17 78.
San Diego State............... 22 26 11 14 - 73
San Jose State................ 31 10 12 25 - 78
3-point goals--San Diego State 8-24 (GOMEZ, Geena 4-9; ELLISON, Kymberly
2-4; THORDERSON, Lexy 2-6; HARVEY, Ahjalee 0-4; BRANDON, Aleiah 0-1), San
Jose State 7-20 (Harris, Nyre 2-5; Vann, Emily 2-3; Ramos, Dezz 2-6;
Stevens, Ellie 1-2; West, Rachol 0-3; Ladd, Myzhanique 0-1). Fouled out--San
Diego State-None, San Jose State-None. Rebounds--San Diego State 44
(GREENHOUSE, Cheyenne 9), San Jose State 44 (Byrd, Riana 11). Assists--San
Diego State 17 (BOSTICK, Ariell 6), San Jose State 17 (Harris, Nyre 7).
Total fouls--San Diego State 18, San Jose State 14. Technical fouls--San
Diego State-None, San Jose State-None. A-325