Nov. 16, 2016
San Jose, Calif. â€" Following a pair of road losses to open the 2016-17 season, the San José State women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of The Event Center and Walt McPherson Court for its first home game of the season, Friday against the Pacific Tigers.
San José State Spartans (0-2)
- Pacific Tigers (1-1)
Friday, November 18, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. (PT)
San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center - 5,000)
Streaming Video â€" Spartan Digital Network/Mountain West Network
Play-by-Play â€" Jess Kanster
WHERE'S THE ADVANTAGE IN HOME OPENERS
The Spartans have played 42 home openers in the history of the program. But despite what should be a home court advantage, San José State is 20-21 in its first game of the year on its own court. Recent history has been a bit kinder to the team. SJSU has won each of its last four home openers.
RAMOS EARNS PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST HONORS
Dezz Ramos (Sr., PG, West Valley, Utah) was named to the 2016-17 Mountain West Preseason All-Conference Team by a vote of the 11 head coaches and media member from around league. It is the second preseason honor she has garnered, being named the 2015-16 Preseason MW Newcomer of the Year. Ramos backed up those preseason expectations last year. She was the leagues second leading scorer (17.2 ppg) and free throw shooter (.853) and returns this year as the leader in both categories. In addition, she ranks third in assists (4.3/g) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7:1), and tenth in steals (1.3/g) and 3-pointers (1.6/g) among Mountain West returners.
GENNETT IS MW PRESEASON NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR; SECOND SPARTAN IN AS MANY YEARS
Hallie Gennett (Jr., F, Post Falls, Idaho) became the second Spartan to be recognized as the Mountain West Preseason Newcomer of the Year, joining last year's honoree Dezz Ramos. Gennett, a transfer from Sacramento State who sat out last season and twice set that program's single-season 3-point record (85 in 2013-14 and 86 in 2014-15). Those totals would rank second and third on the SJSU single-season list. Her 12.1 ppg in her last season at Sac State would rank ninth in the MW among returners and her 86 threes would lead the conference.
ONE TOUGH PRESEASON SCHEDULE...AGAIN
For the second year in a row San José State has a whopper of a preseason slate. This year, ten of the 12 non-conference opponents played in the postseason in 2016, including five that competed in the NCAA Tournament (New Mexico State, Arizona State, Hawai'i, Mississippi State and San Francisco). The other five (Santa Clara, Oregon, Saint Mary's, Nebraska and South Dakota) participated in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) with South Dakota winning the WNIT Championship.
Combined, the Spartans preseason opponents posted a 272-118 (.697) record last year and went 13-9 (.590) in postseason tournament action. Three won conference titles - New Mexico State (WAC), Hawai'i (Big West) and San Francisco (WCC) â€" and, as mentioned before, South Dakota won the WNIT Championship.
SPARTANS PREDICTED TO FINISH FIFTH IN PRESEASON POLL
By a vote of the conference's 11 head coaches and media members from each city, the 2016-17 Spartans were predicted to finish fifth in the Mountain West this year. It's the highest the program has been predicted to finish in its four years in the conference and recognizes the team's improvement.
Last year the team was predicted to finish eighth, but beat the street coming in fourth and earning a first-round bye in the MW Tournament. In its three previous seasons, SJSU was selected to conference play in ninth (2013-14), tenth in (2014-15) and the aforementioned eighth last year.
FOUR SPARTANS MAKE DEBUT AT NEW MEXICO STATE
Three freshmen made their college debut for SJSU on Friday night. Fa-Ko-Fiema'a Hafoka (Fr., G, Kihei, Maui), Alexis Harris (Fr., C, Palo Alto, Calif.) and Taylor Turney (Fr., PG, Henderson, Nev.). In 24 minutes they scored six points and grabbed six rebounds. Junior transfer Hallie Gennett (Jr., F, Post Falls, Idaho) made the biggest impact of the newcomers. She scored 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers, grabbed six rebounds and had an assist in 21 minutes of action.
ALEXANDER FIFTH WOMEN'S HOOPS PLAYER IN SJSU HALL OF FAME
On September 9, 2016, Lora Alexander (1989-90) became the fifth member of the women's basketball program to be inducted into the San José State Sports Hall of Fame. The 1989 and 1990 All-Big West Conference honoree holds the career records for scoring average at 18.2 points and rebound average at 11.1 per game, and is the only Spartan women's basketball player to average a double double for her career. With 1,019 points, Alexander is the only SJSU women's basketball player to score 1,000 points in one's first two seasons in the program. In 1995, she was one of 14 players named to the San José State University Women's Basketball Team of the Century.
GENNET HAS 1,000-CAREER POINTS IN HER SIGHTS
Hallie Gennett (Jr., F, Post Falls, Idaho) scored 712 points in her first two seasons, an average of 11.6 points per game. She sat out last season, after transferring from Sacramento State. In her first two games as a Spartan she scored 15 points to bring her career total to 727. If she continues at her career-scoring pace, she would reach the 1,000-career point milestone against Fresno State on February 15.
RAMOS PROJECTS TO JOIN ALEXANDER WITH 1,000 POINTS IN FIRST TWO YEARS AT SJSU
With 11 points in the Spartans 66-64 win at Fresno State (2/3/16), Dezz Ramos (Jr., PG, West Valley, Utah) passed the 1,000 career-point mark and finished the year with 1,130 career points. She led last year's team with 526 points and with another good season she could join San José State Sports Hall of Famer Lora Alexander, as just the second women's basketball player in program history to score 1,000 points in their first two seasons as a Spartan. Ramos needs 474 points in 2016-17 to reach the program milestone.