Logan, Utah – The San Jose State women's basketball team forged a one-point lead by the end of the first quarter at the Utah State, but from there the Aggies got red-hot from the field and defeated the SJSU 82-49 on Wednesday morning.
Neither team could get going in the first couple of minutes. Megan Anderson made the game's first shot, a three-pointer which would be one of three she sank on the day and one of five the Spartans would make in the quarter. The Spartans, who have struggled in the first period for several games, would make 6-of-18 shots in the first 10 minutes and had an 18-17 lead heading into the second quarter.
Anderson, who led the team with 11 points, moved past Megan Gluhan for 16th place on the program's career three-point list. She now had 72 threes in her Spartans career. Andrea Kohlhaas, who finished with a team-high five rebounds and added five points, made a three and, with 48 for her career, is 24th on the career list.
The SJSU (1-14, 0-4 MW) lead after a period was the team's first the last four games and just the fourth in 15 games this season.
As well as the Spartans played in the first quarter; they struggled mightily for the rest of the game. Utah State (9-7, 4-1 MW) scored the first ten points of the second period and never looked back. The Aggies shot 50 percent (11-of-22) from the field, forced six turnovers and hit five three pointers to forge a 20-point halftime lead.
From the second quarter on, Utah State made 26-of-50 shots (52 percent) including 9-of-16 (54 percent) from three-point range compared to the Spartans 10-of-37 (27 percent) which included going 4-of-18 (22 percent) from beyond the arc.
Raziya Potter had seven points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal for SJSU. Alexis Harris scored three points, grabbed four rebounds, and had three blocks and a steal.
Shannon Dufficy had 18 of her game-high 24 points by halftime and grabbed 10 rebounds. Hailey Bassett scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Utah State, which outrebounded the Spartans 51-to-30 overall.
The Spartans next game is back in The Event Center on Saturday, January 19 against the UNLV Rebels. Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.