Jan. 10, 2017
San Jose, Calif. â€" Looking to get back into the win column after dropping a pair of Mountain West Conference road games, the San José State women's basketball team plays the first of two home contests in a row, welcoming the San Diego State Aztecs to The Event Center on Wednesday night.
San José State Spartans (4-11, 1-2 MW)
vs.
San Diego State Aztecs (7-7, 2-1 MW)
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 - 7:00 p.m. (PT)
San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center - 5,000)
Streaming Video and Live Stats: www.sjsuspartans.com
Radio: 90.5 KSJS-FM/ksjs.org
SMITH IS ONE OF FIVE
Having passed 1,000-career points in the Spartans game against Nevada (12/29) and surpassing 700-career rebound at Fresno State (1/7), Jasmine Smith (Sr., F, Burbank, Calif.) became the fifth player to wear the Gold, White and Blue and to have joined the exclusive 1,000/700 club. She joined Elinor Banks (1,672 pts./1,062 rebs.), Lamisha Augustine (1,226 pts./700 rebs.), Rhoda Chew (1,188 pts./946 rebs.) and Riana Byrd (1,034 pts./1,038 rebs.) as the only Spartans to reach the milestone.
TURNEY TIME
Taylor Turney (Fr., PG, Henderson, Nev.) has seen increased floor time in the Spartans three conference games and it's paying dividends. Her minutes have increased from 8.8-to-13.3 per game. Her scoring average is up to 6.3 point per game, from 2.9 in the team's first 12 contests and she has dished out 12 assists in Mountain West play (4.0/g) compared to that same number in the non-conference portions of the schedule (1.0/g). Against Fresno State she set a personal-best with seven assists and equaled her best offensive performance with nine points.
SMITH THE 15TH SPARTAN TO SCORE 1,000 POINTS; NOW RANKS 13TH ALL-TIME
On a three-point play in the first quarter of the team's game against Nevada (12/29), Jasmine Smith (Sr., F, Burbank, Calif.) became the 15th player in the history of San José State women's basketball to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Finishing the Nevada game with 18 points, Smith stood at 1,011 for her career. She scored 13 at Colorado State (1/4 moving past Lora Alexander (1,019 pts., 1989-90) for 14th place and with 16 points at Fresno State (1/7) she moved past Riana Byrd (1,034 pts., 2013-16) into13th place on the program's career scoring list. Smith enters the game against San Diego State with 1,040-career points, 125 from equaling Tatiana Taylor (1,165 pts., 2001-04) for 12th place.
DEZZ COULD GET TO 1,000 POINTS IN RECORD TIME
SeniorDezz Ramos (Sr., PG, West Valley, Utah) was the second-leading scorer in the Mountain West last season averaging 18.1 points per game and this season has up that to 21.0 through the first 15 games. She has scored 841 points in 44 games as a Spartans and is on pace to become just the second SJSU women's basketball player to score 1,000 points in her first two seasons. If she stays at her current scoring pace, she will reach 1,000 points in eight more games, a total of 52 games. She would join SJSU Hall of Famer Lora Alexander as the only Spartan to accomplish the feat. Alexander scored 1,019 points in 56 games.
CRAIGHEAD SIX WINS FROM 100th OF HER CAREER
With six more victories, head coach Jamie Craighead will reach the 100-win career plateau. It will be her 49th win with SJSU tying her with Karen Smith (1993-99) for third place on the program all-time wins list. The late Janice Richard (1999-2006) ranks second with 93 wins and Sharon Chatman (1977-86), with 143 victories, is the all-time leader in victories and is the only coach in SJSU women's basketball with a winning record (143-121/.542).
SMITH DOUBLING UP
Jasmine Smith (Sr., F, Burbank, Calif.) has recorded a double double in five of 15 games this year and since the start of Mountain West play has been a double double machine. She is one of two players, Colorado State's Ellen Nystrom is the other, who have a double double in each of her team's conference games. Since the start of MW play she is averaging 15.7 points and 13 boards per game. Entering the game against SDSU, she is riding a four-game double double streak.
BAIRD HAS ONE OF THE BEST DAYS ON THE BOARDS FOR A SPARTAN
Paris Baird (Sr., F, Van Nuys, Calif.), had by far the best rebounding game of her career, grabbing 19 rebounds at Colorado State (1/4). It more than doubled her previous career-high of nine and was two boards from equaling the single-game record of Rhoda Chew (1982-85), who twice in her career grabbed 21 rebounds in a game. In SJSU history there had been ten previous 19 rebound games and five 20-rebound games.
DEZZ CAN FILL IT UP, BUT...
With a 34-point outburst at Colorado State after a 40-point game against Nevada, Dezz Ramos (Sr., PG, West Valley, Utah) has two back-to-back 30-point efforts this season and a program record total of five 30+ point games in her Spartans career. In addition, she is the only player in Spartans history to have multiple back-to-back 30+ point games. Hulett Brooks (32 & 31 points on 12/29 & 12/30/03) and Lora Alexander (30 & 33 points on 2/22 & 2/24/90) accomplished the feat once in their careers.
STABLE STARTERS
Through 15 games, San José State has used exactly one starting lineup - Myzhanique Ladd (Jr., G, Seattle, Wash.), Paris Baird (Sr., F, Van Nuys, Calif.), Jasmine Smith (Sr., F, Burbank, Calif.), Rachol West (Sr., G, Bakersfield, Calif.) & Dezz Ramos (Sr., PG, West Valley, Utah). Fifteen games in a row with the same starters, is the longest streak in head coach Jamie Craighead's four seasons in San Jose.
POY WATCH...WHY NOT!
It is way to early to start MW Player of the Year talk, but...we're doing it anyway! Dezz Ramos (Sr., PG, West Valley, Utah) is showing everyone just how dominant a player can be from the point guard position. Entering the game against San Diego State she is #1 in scoring (28.7/g) and steals (3.0/g), #2 in 3-pt FG (4.0/g), #5 in FT% (.842), #6 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0:1), and #7 in assists (4.7/g).
MAKING THREES AND SETTING RECORDS
Having hit 124 three-pointers this year, SJSU ranks second in the Mountain West and 30th in the nation. With its 15 three-pointers, against Pacific (11/18), the Spartans established a new single-season record for a game in The Event Center. The previous mark was 14 threes, which was set against Georgia State (12/18/13) and equaled against Utah State (2/27/16).
STEPPING UP
One-half of the season is gone and three returning Spartans have more than upped their games compared to last year. Andrea Kohlhaas (So., G, Besigheim, Germany), through 15 games, has already established career-highs in every offensive category. Paris Baird (Sr., F, Van Nuys, Calif.) has nearly doubled her output per game in field goals and rebounds and Rachol West (Sr., G, Bakersfield, Calif.) has more than doubled her numbers from last year in points and rebounds.