Feb. 11, 2016
San Jose, Calif. - After dispatching UNLV, 69-61 on Wednesday night, the San José State women's basketball team has run its current winning streak to three games. If the Spartans hope to make it four in a row, it will come on Saturday night at the expense of the New Mexico Lobos, a program SJSU has never beaten.
San José State Spartans (9-14, 7-5 MW)
vs.
New Mexico Lobos (12-10, 5-6 MW)
Saturday, February 13, 2016 - 2:00 p.m.
San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
Streaming video, audio and live stats at www.sjsuspartans.com
REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD...AND IN PINK UNIFORMS!
When the Spartans and Lobos tip off in The Event Center on Saturday, SJSU will be looking for revenge for a 71-57 beating they took in Albuquerque late last month. It was the seventh straight loss that UNM has handed San José State. The Saturday night, Spartans are planning to break through against New Mexico, the only team in the Mountain West it has never beaten, while outfitted in pink uniforms. The game is the annual Play4Kay "Pink Game" for breast cancer awareness.
-The first 250 fans will receive an AutoNation Cure Bowl shirt and drawstring backpack.
-All kids under 12, wearing a basketball jersey, receive free admission; and the first 100 will be eligible to take part in a post game clinic hosted by the women's basketball team.
BYRD GETTING TO 1,000-CAREER REBOUNDS IN A HURRY
Riana Byrd (Sr., C, Richmond, Calif.) has grabbed 995 career-rebounds entering the Spartans game against New Mexico, five boards from the 1,000-rebound milestone. Since the start of Mountain West play she has been on a tear. Byrd entered conference action averaging 5.7 rebounds per game, but in the team's 12 league match-ups has upped that to 9.9 per outing. Seven of her eight double figure rebounding games have come in MW play, including a season-high 17 rebounds in the team's 69-61 win over UNLV (2/10). When she pulls down her 1,000th rebound, Byrd will be just the second player in Spartans' history to reach the milestone.
FOUR IN A ROW WOULD BE A SEASON HIGH
With its 69-61 win over UNLV on Wednesday night, San José State is riding a three-game winning streak. It's the second time this year SJSU has strung together three in a row. A win over New Mexico, would be its first program history and would extend its winning streak to four games, a season high. The last time the Spartans put together four straight wins was from 1/3-1/9 in the 2011-12 season.
BYRD NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Riana Byrd (Sr., C, Richmond, Calif.) led all scorers with 17 points, grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, had two steals and blocked two shots. She came into the final period with 7:47 to play and scored eight of the team's next 12 point to turn a 55-47 deficit into a 59-59 tie. With the Spartans up 65-64 and 11 seconds to play, Byrd blocked the potential go-ahead shot and grabbed the rebound. It is Byrd's first MW honor and the team's first Player of the Week honor this season.
AT FRESNO STATE SPARTANS GET FOURTH MW ROAD WIN OF 2015-16
With San Jose State's 66-64 victory at Fresno State (2/3), the team has won four conference road games in a single season, for the first time since 2005-06. The team still has road contests at Nevada, San Diego State and Boise State to wrap up the 2015-16 season.
BYRD BECOMES THE 14TH PLAYER TO REACH 1,000-CAREER POINTS FOR SJSU ***
With a game-high 17 points at Fresno State (2/3),Riana Byrd (Sr., C, Richmond, Calif.) has scored 1,004 career-points in a Spartans uniform. Averaging 9.0 points per game for her career, she reached the milestone in 112 games and is the 14th player in program history to achieve quadruple-digit scoring.
LADD TRENDING UP...AS A STARTER
Myzhanique Ladd (So., G, Seattle, Wash.) continues to show the skills which got her named Ms. Basketball in the state of Washington in 2014. At Air Force (1/30) she recorded her first career double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. A career 5.0 ppg scorer, in the last 16 games Ladd has reached double figures in the scoring column eight times and has averaged 10.1 ppg while grabbing 4.9 rebounds. Since being inserted in the starting lineup 15 games ago, she has shot 57% from the floor, 50% from three-point range and 70% from the line.
ITS ALL ABOUT BYRD
In the game against UNLV (2/10), Riana Byrd (Sr., C, Richmond, Calif.) competed in her 113th game as a Spartan, which tied her with Teoma Taylor (2001-04) and Wanda Thompson (1978-81) for seventh place on the program career-list for games played. With a minimum of seven games left on San José State's schedule, Byrd could reach 120 games played which would equal Lamisha Augustine (2002-06) for second place on the list. The career record holder is Ta'Rea Cunnigan who played in 122 games for the Spartans.
RAMOS PASSES 1,000-CAREER POINTS
With 11 points in the Spartans 66-64 win at Fresno State (2/3), Dezz Ramos (Jr., PG, West Valley, Utah) passed the 1,000 career-point mark. Ramos enters the team's game against New Mexico with 1,022 points. So far this season, she leads the team and ranks second in the Mountain West with 418 points (19.0 ppg). Her previous single season high was 360 points, which she set in the 2013-14 season at Weber State. In two seasons at Weber State, prior to transferring to SJSU, she totaled 604 points.
Honored as the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year prior to the start of the season. In 22 games Ramos has reached double figures 20 times, and in 11 games has scored at least 20 points.
HARRIS LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Nyre Harris (Sr., G, Stockton, Calif.) is a senior, a team captain and is leading by example. Harris tops the team with 52 steals (2.3/g). In addition, she second in minutes (29.5/g), assists (63) and defensive rebounds (77), third in total rebounds (5.3/g) and offensive rebounds (45). Harris has started every game and is second leading scorer on the team at 9.5 point per game. In the opener, against Southern Oregon (11/13), she 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.
A 5-8 shooting guard, she is second in the conference in steals, is the 13th leading offensive rebounder and overall its 18th most productive rebounder.
SPARTANS NOT SHY ABOUT HOISTING UP THE SHOTS
Since, virtually the start of the season, the San José State shooter have lead the Mountain West in every shooting category. SJSU currently tops the league in points per game (73.7), points (1,694), field goal attempts (1,553), field goals made (600), three-point attempts (570) and three-pointers made (178). In free throws, the Spartans are just behind Utah State for the top spot in both attempts (459) and makes (316).
12-GAME, 13-YEAR DROUGHT IN FRESNO HALTED
When the Spartans defeated Fresno State 66-64 last week in the Save Mart Center, it ended a 12-game, 13-year losing steak in Fresno. The last time the Spartans defeated the Bulldogs on their home court, prior to last Wednesday, the last time SJSU had won in the valley was a 65-48 win in the 2001-02 season.