March 7, 2016
Las Vegas, Nev. -- With a first-round bye in hand, the San Jose State women's basketball team waits for day two to get its 2016 Mountain West Basketball Championship underway. The Spartans will face the New Mexico Lobos, a team which it split the season series with this year.
2016 Mountain West Basketball Championship
#4 San José State Spartans vs.#5 New Mexico Lobos
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 - 2:30 p.m.
Las Vegas, Nevada (Thomas & Mack Center)
SPARTANS IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT
San José State, in its third year in the Mountain West, is 2-2 all-time in the conference tournament.
2015 (eighth seed)
First Round: Defeated #9 Utah State 99-85
Quarterfinals: Defeated #1 Colorado State 64-55
Semifinals: Lost to #4 Boise State 76-67
2014 (10th seed)
First Round: Lost to #7 UNLV 78-75
RAMOS EARNS MOUNTAIN WEST NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR AND ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST HONORS
Dezz Ramos (Jr., PG, West Valley, Utah) was named the Preseason Co-Mountain Newcomer of the Year and proved the coaches and media were correct in their selection. That in combination with her All-Mountain West selection, makes Ramos the first player in SJSU's three years in the Mountain West to earn multiple postseason awards in a single season.
Her 17.2 points per game led the team and was second highest in Mountain West play. In addition, Ramos led the Spartans and finished second in the league in free throw percentage (.852). Her 1.7:1 assist to turnover ratio was fourth in the MW and she ranked 10th in made three-pointers (29), both team highs. She ranked 13th in steals at 1.3 per game, second best among her teammates.
BYRD NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Riana Byrd (Sr., C, Richmond, Calif.) averaged 19 minutes a game off the bench and made one start in 18 Mountain West contests. She led San José State in rebounding, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds in league play. Her 8.7 rebounds per game ranked second in the league and tops among sixth players. She blocked 1.3 shots per game, which is second among sixth players and tied for second in the Mountain West. Byrd ranked first in the conference in offensive rebounds (3.3/g) and was third in defensive boards (5.9/g), both were tops among sixth players.
Byrd increased her rebounding from 7.6-to-9.1 and her scoring from 5.7-to-8.2 points per game once the team got into conference play as well as had eight double-digit rebounding efforts. Byrd scored her 1,000th point in the team's victory at Fresno State and grabbed her 1,000th rebound in the Spartans win over New Mexico. She became the second member of the SJSU 1,000/1,000 club, joining San José State Hall of Fame member Elinor Banks (1978-81).
RAMOS PUTTING HER STAMP ON SPARTANS RECORD BOOK
In her first season in the program,Dezz Ramos (Jr., PG, West Valley, Utah) has put her name into the top-10 of four single-season categories in the SJSU record book.
Points
#6 Natalie St. Mary (1982-83) 450
#7 Lora Alexander (1989-90) 523
#8 Karen Mason (1980-81) 517
#9 Dezz Ramos (2015-16) 510
3-Point FG
#5 Jessica Kellogg (2004-05) 65
#6 Sara Plavljanin (2011-12) 61
#7 Dezz Ramos (2015-16) 60
3-Point FG Attempts
#7 Danada Smith (2000-01) 178
#8 Atari Parker (2001-02) & Natalie White (2007-08) 170
#10 Dezz Ramos (2015-16) 168
Free Throw Percentage
#4 Dezz Ramos (2015-16) .850
BROADCAST OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT
The Mountain West Network broadcast of the game will be streamed live on the Spartan Digital Network with Rich Cellini and Krista Blunk calling the action. Jess Knaster and Justin Allegri have the call on Stretch Internet Radio, which will also be available at the women's basketball schedule page at www.sjsuspartans.com.