Nov. 27, 2017
San Jose, Calif. â€" After a disappointing Thanksgiving weekend in which they dropped two games in the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off, the San José State women's basketball team looks to get back on the winning track with a game at Santa Clara.
San José State Spartans (1-4)
at
Santa Clara (2-3)
Tuesday, November 28, 2017 - 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Santa Clara, Calif. (Leavey Center - 4,700)
COACH CRAIGHEAD AND PLAYER INTERVIEWS
All interview requests for Head Coach Jamie Craighead or any players should be made through the SJSU Athletics Media Relations Office, 408-924-1208, at least 24 hours in advance. Players are available as their class schedules, practices and meetings permit. Players will not be available until post-game on game days. Media members are also required to make arrangements with the San José State's Athletics Media Relations Office to attend any practice session.
QUICK LOOK AT THE BRONCOS
This will be the Broncos sixth game of the year. SCU (2-3) split a two-game roadie last week, losing at Northwestern (57-47) and winning at Illinois-Chicago (45-36). They are scoring 54.4 points a game and giving up 58.6. Santa Clara is shooting .365 from the floor and .269 from three-point range while allowing opponents to hit at a .395 clip, including .325 from beyond the arc.
SCU's top scorer is Kyla Martin (11.0/g). She also leads the team in assists (4.8/g) and steals (2.0/g). Morgan McGwire is the top rebounder (6.8/g) and also leads the squad in blocks with eight.
Bill Carr is in his second season leading the Broncos program. He brings a 14-16 record as a Division I head coach into this season.
SJSU VS. THE WCC
Overall, San José State is 66-106 (38.4 percent) against the current make up of West Coast Conference schools. The vast majority of that record is contained in games against San Francisco (22-20) and Santa Clara (23-24) and Pacific (13-35). SJSU has faced all 10 of the WCC schools and has a winning record against only the aforementioned San Francisco. Last year San José State went 1-3 against WCC schools, losing to UOP, USF & St Mary's and defeating Santa Clara.
SPARTANS ROSTER SECOND YOUNGEST IN DIVISION I
In a preseason poll of Media Relations Directors, the Spartans are the second youngest team in Division I women's basketball, based on percentage of freshman and sophomores on the roster. Twelve of SJSU's 15 players are underclassmen, which ties them for second place with Florida International. UNC Greenville has the youngest team in the nation at 87.7 percent underclassmen.
AIN'T NOTHING BUT A "THREE" THING BABY
Making 10.4 three-pointers per game, the Spartans lead in the Mountain West and rank 10th in the nation. In two of the team's three games they have launched at least 30 and hit at least 11 from beyond the arc, including MW season-highs in attempts (39) and makes (13) against Portland State. SJSU ranks 31st in the nation in total threes and has hit double digits in three of its five games (at #8/7 UCLA, vs. Portland State & at UOP). In addition, San José State is 45th in three-point attempts and 81st in three-point percentage. Anaylss Benally (So., G, Park City, Kan.) leads the team, ranks second in the MW and 55th in the nation, making 3.0 threes per game.
1,000-POINT PROSPECTS
Hallie Gennett (Sr., F, Post Falls, Idaho) and Myzhanique Ladd (Sr., G, Seattle, Wash.) each have a chance to reach 1,000-career points this season. Gennett began 2017-18 with 870 points, and with 44 points in the first five games, is now 86 from the mark. With a minimum of 25 more games this season, Gennett needs to average 3.4 points per game to surpass 1,000. At her career scoring average of 9.3/g, she is projected to reach 1,000 on January 6, in The Event Center, against New Mexico.
Ladd, who has scored 53 points through five games, has 689 in her Spartans' career. She is 311 points from 1,000 and needs to average 12.4/game to reach the milestone. It may be a tall order based on her career 7.2 ppg average, but in 2017-18 she has upped her production to 10.6 ppg.
IT'S TURNING INTO TURNEY'S TEAM
After watching Dezz Ramos last season, one of the most prolific scorers in SJSU history, Taylor Turney (So., G, Henderson, Nev.) is applying the lessons she learned. Turney leads the team in scoring at 15.6 ppg, which is the fifth highest in the Mountain West. She is shooting 54 percent, tops on the team, third in the MW and 88th in the nation. Turney leads the team in free throw percentage, assists and is second in steals. In the MW she's fourth in free throw percentage (.875) fifth in assists (4.6/g) and tied for sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8:1/g).
EVERYBODY INTO THE DEEP END OF THE POOL
In the first five games of the season, 13 Spartans saw the floor in each game and at least nine have logged double-digit minutes in each contest. In every game this season, Myzhanique Ladd (Sr., G, Seattle, Wash.) leads the team in minutes.
FRESHMAN STARTER
When Cydni Lewis (Fr., F, Long Beach, Calif.) got the start in the season opener at #8/7 UCLA (11/10), she became just the second freshman, the other being Britta Hall in 2013-14, to be a starter in the opener in Coach Craighead's five seasons at SJSU. Hall had 27 starts and Jasmine Smith earned five in 2013-14. Myzhanique Ladd (Sr., G, Seattle, Wash.) was the last freshman to start a game for SJSU. She had nine starts in 2014-15. With her start against Portland State (11/19), Mikaylah Wilson (Fr., F, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) has now joined the group and is the fifth freshman to start for Coach Craighead while she has been at SJSU.
ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THE SEASON SO FAR
If you take out the points for both teams in the Spartans opening game at #8/7 UCLA, SJSU is statistically doing better than its 1-3 record might indicate. With out that 60-point defeat, the Spartans are averaging 78.8 points a game (+2.0) and giving up 84.0 (-12.6), which reduces the scoring margin from -15.8 to -5.2. In addition, SJSU would be outscoring its opponents in the first and third quarters. However, San José State would still be outscored 94-to-68 in second quarter and 86-to-78 in the fourth quarter.