Nov. 1, 2016
San Jose, Calif. - Five Spartans scored in double figures led by Dezz Ramos' 13 points and 12 assist, as the San José State women's basketball team rolled to a 105-71 win over the Sonoma State Seawolves in the team's sole exhibition game on Tuesday night in The Event Center.
Despite shooting 53 percent (40-of-76) from the field, including 47 percent (14-of-30) from beyond the three-point line, Sonoma State jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first five minutes of the game, and still clung to a four-point advantage, 14-10, with just over three minutes left in the quarter.
A layup by Jasmine Smith, who finished with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, and a three-point play from Myzhanique Ladd, who led the team with five steals and added 12 points and five rebounds, gave SJSU its first lead of the game, 15-14. San José State took a 20-16 advantage into the second quarter and extended it to 41-30 at the half.
For the contest, the Spartans had 20 steals, forced 28 turnovers and scored 36 points off Sonoma State mistakes. In the lane, SJSU outscored the Seawolves 38-to-26 despite being out rebounded by 13, 49-to-36.
The Seawolves scored the first hoop of the second half to cut the lead to nine points, but a 12-0 run sparked by seven points from Rachol West, who finished the night with 10 points, pushed the advantage to 53-32 and the Spartans never looked back. Three of freshman Analyss Benally's 14 points came with 4:57 to play, made the score 92-65 and SJSU cruised to the 34-point victory.
In addition to Benally, four other newcomers contributed to the victory. Freshman Fa-Ko Fieme'a Hafoka scored nine points, all in the second half, dished out four assists and picked up four steals. Alexis Harris scored four points and blocked two shots and Taylor Turney had five assists, three steals and nine points. Junior transfer Hallie Gennett scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds.
Rounding out the stat sheet, Paris Baird pitched in seven points and had three steals and Andrea Kohlhaas added five points to the win.
The regular season gets under way on November 11 in Las Cruces, N. M. as the Spartans take on the New Mexico State Aggies. Tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (MT).