San Jose, Calif. – The San Jose State women's basketball team had five players in double figures and shot 54 percent from the floor en route to an 82-72 victory over the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners on Saturday afternoon in The Event Center.
The win is the Spartans (1-3) first of the season and ends a three-game skid in which the team was shooting 29 percent and averaging just 60 points per game.
Fa-Ko-Fieme'a Hafoka paced SJSU with a career-high 14 points. She was 6-of-8 from the floor including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Cydni Lewis, Megan Anderson and Raziya Potter had 12 each and Danae Marquez finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Both team's shot well in the opening period. CSUB (3-2) hit 12-of-19 shots (63 percent) to the Spartans' 8-of-16 (50 percent). San José State grabbed an early 14-6 lead after an Anderson three with six and a half minutes to go, but CSU Bakersfield battled back and took a 24-21 lead into the second quarter. CSUB's Vanessa Austin, a 6-3 sophomore, had eight of her game-high 21 points in the first 10 minutes on 4-of-5 shooting.
A Potter trey 58 seconds into the second period tied the game 24-24 and a Nina Carpenter layup 15 seconds later gave the Roadrunners the lead back 26-24. Anderson drained her second three with 8:24 to go before the half and the Spartans were back in front for good. On an Andrea Kohlhaas three, SJSU pushed it's advantage to seven with 2:24 to go before the intermission, but the Roadrunners scored the last four points of the period and San José State took a 40-37 lead into the half.
The only quarter in which SJSU didn't hit at least 50 percent was the third. The Spartans made 4-of-10 (40 percent), but CSU Bakersfield was just 5-of-18 (28 percent) and San José State took a 54-49 advantage into the final period.
The offense ramped back up in the final 10 minutes. SJSU made 10-of-15 shots, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, 5-of-7 from the line and built a 15-point advantage. Down the stretch, Lewis scored six of the team's final eight points to secure the 82-72 win.
Marquez's 11 points equaled her season-high. She equaled a career-high with eight assists and set a career-best with eight rebounds.
In addition to its 54 percent shooting, the Spartans made 12-of-22 shots (55 percent) from three-point range, both season highs.
San José State return to action on Thursday night hosting UOP. Tipoff in The Event Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
