Jan. 31, 2018
San Jose, Calif. - The San Jose State women's basketball trailed 33-30 off an Analyss Benally three-pointer eight seconds into the third quarter, but UNLV then went on a 26-to-2 run in just over six minutes and cruised to an 80-53 victory on Wednesday night in The Event Center.
Benally's three in the third established a new SJSU sophomore record for three-pointers in a season. It was her 48th of the year and moved her passed Kari Steele who converted 47 in her sophomore season of 1994-95. Benally finished the night with nine points on three buckets from beyond the arc and currently sits at 49 for the season.
The only Spartan in double figures in the scoring column was freshman Megan Anderson, who was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc on her way to 12 points. Anderson has 31 threes through 21 games and is on pace to break the program's freshman three-point record of 43 set by Britta Hall in 2013-14.
SJSU (6-15, 3-7 MW) saw UNLV jump out to a 10-0 lead in the first four minutes and didn't score until Alexis Harris grabbed an offensive rebound at the 5:48 mark and laid it back in to make it 10-2. They were the first two of 11 second-chance points the Spartans got on their way to outscoring the Rebels 11-to-10 in that category. It is the first time in the last five games that San José State has bettered a team in second-chance scoring.
Outscored 23-10 in the first quarter, SJSU battled back in the second. Trailing UNLV (12-8, 7-2 MW) by 14 with 4:18 to play before intermission, Anderson hit a three followed by a Benally triple and it was down to eight, 31-23, with a little over a minute and a half to go.
Anderson was fouled and made both free throws. And following a UNLV layup, Taylor Turney hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to send the game to the half with the Rebels up 33-27.
Benally hit her three-pointer on the first possession of the third period, but then everything went south. SJSU committed six turnovers, and went 0-of-10 from the floor while UNLV went on a 26-to-2 run. A Myzhanique Ladd jumper with 3:31 to play in the period ended the UNLV run, but the damage was done. When the quarter ended the Rebels had outscored SJSU 30-11 and the score was 63-38 with 10 minutes to play.
With the game in hand, the teams traded buckets in the fourth quarter and UNLV won 80-53.
The Spartans, who have struggled on the boards recently, lost the battle to the taller Rebels 44-to-39, but where they were really hurt was in the turnovers. San José State committed 20 turnovers, which turned into 21 points for the opposition.
The Rebels got 78-of-80 points from their starters, led by Katie Powell's 28. For the game, UNLV outshot the Spartans 45 percent to 30 percent and outscored them 50-to-18 in the paint.
The Spartans are on the road Saturday for their next game. San José State plays at New Mexico with tip off scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
UNLV vs San Jose State
01/31/18 7:00 p.m. at San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
At San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center)
UNLV 80, SAN JOSE STATE 53
UNLV (12-8, 7-2 MW)
POWELL, Katie 11-18 6-9 28; STRAWTHER, Paris 6-9 1-2 16; JOHNSON, Brooke
5-15 1-2 13; WHEATLEY, Nikki 5-10 3-5 13; BELL, Jordyn 3-8 2-3 8; WADE,
Rodjanae 0-0 2-4 2; KEMMER, Mara 0-1 0-0 0; JACKMAN, Krista 0-0 0-0 0;
ANDERSON, Alyssa 0-1 0-0 0; SHEPPARD, Simone 0-3 0-0 0; WHARTON, Kennedy 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 30-66 15-25 80.
SAN JOSE STATE (6-15, 3-7 MW)
Anderson, Megan 3-8 3-4 12; Benally, Analyss 3-10 0-0 9; Ladd, Myzhanique
3-10 1-2 7; Lewis, Cydni 3-8 0-0 6; Turney, Taylor 1-7 3-4 5; WILSON,
Mikaylah 2-4 0-2 4; Clark, Courtesy 1-2 1-2 3; Marquez, Danae 1-3 0-0 3;
Harris, Alexis 1-1 0-0 2; HAFOKA, Fieme'a 1-9 0-0 2; Ezeonu, Chinwe 0-0 0-0
- Totals 19-62 8-14 53.
UNLV.......................... 23 10 30 17 - 80
San Jose State................ 10 17 11 15 - 53
3-point goals--UNLV 5-22 (STRAWTHER, Paris 3-5; JOHNSON, Brooke 2-8; BELL,
Jordyn 0-1; KEMMER, Mara 0-1; ANDERSON, Alyssa 0-1; SHEPPARD, Simone 0-2;
POWELL, Katie 0-4), San Jose State 7-30 (Anderson, Megan 3-7; BENALLY,
Analyss 3-10; Marquez, Danae 1-3; Turney, Taylor 0-2; Clark, Courtesy 0-1;
HAFOKA, Fieme'a 0-5; Ladd, Myzhanique 0-2). Fouled out--UNLV-None, San Jose
State-None. Rebounds--UNLV 44 (STRAWTHER, Paris 9), San Jose State 39 (LADD,
Myzhanique 9). Assists--UNLV 18 (JOHNSON, Brooke 7), San Jose State 14
(Marquez, Danae 5). Total fouls--UNLV 11, San Jose State 19. Technical
fouls--UNLV-None, San Jose State-None. A-767