March 2, 2016
San Jose, Calif. - The San Jose State women's basketball team and Boise State meet in the Bronco's Taco Bell Arena in the final game of the regular season with the winner earning the third seed and the loser the fourth seed in next weeks Mountain West Basketball Championship.
San José State Spartans (13-15, 11-6 MW)
at
Boise State Broncos (18-10, 11-6 MW)
Friday, March 4, 2016 - 6:00 p.m. (PT)
Boise, Idaho (Taco Bell Arena)
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS...
The Spartans match-up against Boise State on Friday night will determine which program gets the third seed and which gets the fourth seed in next week's 2016 Mountain West Basketball Championships.
A win by San Jose State would earn the Spartans the third seed. That would mean San Jose State would play in the 8:35 game on Tuesday (3/8) night against the winner of Monday's game between the sixth seed (either Utah State, New Mexico or UNLV) and 11th seed (Air Force).
If the Spartans, lose they would earn the fourth seed and play in the 2:35 game on Tuesday (3/8) afternoon against the fifth seed, which will be either Utah State, New Mexico or UNLV.
THIRD STRAIGHT SENIOR NIGHT WIN IN 12 MONTHS***
With its 65-51 win over Wyoming (3/1) in the team's final appearance on its home court this season, the Spartans have been victorious in three Senior Night games in the last 12 months...and a day. SJSU defeated Nevada last year (81-72 on 2/28/15) on the Spartans Senior Night, then one week later went to UNLV and beat the Lady Rebels (99-97 on 3/6/15) to spoil their Senior Night. Three Senior Nights in a 12 months and a day...three Senior Night wins.
SENDING THE SENIORS OFF IN STYLE
Seniors Nyre Harris, Emily Schill, Ellie Stevens, Emily Vann and Riana Byrd were honored in ceremonies before the Spartans Tuesday's contest, the final home game of the year. The four who played in the game, Schill has been sidelined all season, showed senior leadership on the court in the team's 65-51 win over Wyoming. The four combined to score 29 of the Spartans 65 points, grabbed 23 of the team's 40 rebounds, dished out nine of its 19 assists, had four of seven steals and all five blocks in the contest.
SENIOR NIGHT VICTORIES ARE STREAKY
The Spartans extended their current Senior Night winning steak to five games with the team's 65-51 win over Wyoming on Tuesday and for SJSU Senior Night is a streaky proposition. In the past 14 years the team has ridden three streaks on its Senior Night. Prior to its current streak, San Jose State lost four straight Senior Nights (2007-08 through 2010-11). Prior to that slump, SJSU had a five game Senior Night winning streak (2001-02 through 2006-07).
TAKING THE NEXT STEP...GOAL NO. 1 ACCOMPLISHED
With its win over Utah State (2/27) in combination with losses by New Mexico and UNLV, the Spartans achieved its first goal of the season...a first-round bye in the upcoming 2016 Mountain West Basketball Championships.
The Spartans are entering their third conference tournament, since joining the Mountain West prior to the 2013-14 season, and year-after-year the program has been trending up. In its first year in the league, SJSU finished in 10th place and was eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament. Last year, the Spartans improved to the eighth seed and went on a run into the semifinals becoming the first eight seed to defeat the top seed in the 16-year history of the Mountain West. This year the team has improved again, securing a top-5 seed and earning a first-round bye.
DOUBLE DIGIT CONFERENCE WINS...ONE MORE EQUALS THE PROGRAM RECORD
With its victory over Utah State last Saturday and Wyoming on Tuesday, its 10th and 11th in Mountain West play this year, San José State has reached double-digit conference wins for just the fifth time in the 40 years it has been affiliated with a league. The Spartans had 10 Western Athletic Conference wins in the 2004-05 season. The other three times the program posted double-digit conference wins were 2001-02 (WAC), 1977-78 (NorCal) & 1978-89 (NorCal) when they set the program record with 12 wins. A win at Boise State on Friday would equal the program record.