San Jose, Calif. – After a 33-point drubbing at the hands of the Utah State Aggies two weeks ago, the San José State women's basketball team looks to return the favor in a Mountain West match-up on Wednesday night on Walt McPherson Court.
San José State Spartans (1-17, 0-7 MW)
vs.
Utah State Aggies (10-8, 5-2 MW)
Saturday, January 30, 2019 - 7:00 p.m. (PT)
San Jose, Calif. (The Event Center - 5,000)
LIVE STATS
Fans can view live stats of all San José State women's basketball games, home and away, by accessing the Live Stats feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the women's basketball schedule page to follow the action.
VIDEO STREAMING
The Mountain West Network is your all-access passport to Spartan Athletics. For live and recorded video/audio of San José State women's basketball home and Mountain West road contests, the Mountain West Network is your home. Go to Mountain West Network logo at top of the Spartans Athletics home page or go to www.sjsuspartans.com/video.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with Spartans women's basketball on all our social media platforms. The team's Twitter handle is @sjswbb, Facebook page is /SanJoseStateWBB and Instagram is sjsu_wbb.
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. On game days, players will not be available until post-game. 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 UTAH STATE
The Aggies posted a 5-6 mark in non-conference play, but have put things together since the start of Mountain West play. They are 5-2 since conference play, including an 82-49 drubbing of the Spartans in Logan two weeks ago. On the road the Aggies are 2-1 and outscoring its opponents by an average of 4.0 points. In its games away form home, Utah State is averaging 59.6 points a game and is giving up 55.6.
Shannon Dufficy's 16.8 points per game average paces the Aggies. In addition, Dufficy leads the team in rebounding (10.3/g) and steals (2.1/g). Eliza West is dishing out 5.5 assists and Deja Mason is averaging 1.3 blocks per game, both team highs.
Jerry Finkbeiner is in his seventh season as the head coach at Utah State. He brought a 29-year career record of 553-350 in to 2018-19. In his time at Utah State he has a 79-108 mark.
THE GAME IS STARTING TO SLOW DOWN FOR POTTER
Raziya Potter (Fr., G, Tracy, Calif.) has scored in double figures in nine-of-18 games this season and has made 13 starts. She is the team's third leading scorer in the regular season (9.1 ppg) and leads the team in Mountain West play (8.4 ppg). In the last three games, she is averaging 11.0 points and shooting .344 (11-of-32) from the field. Over the same time span she is averaging 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
WILSON IS STARTING TO ROLL
In the first six games in which she appeared this season, Mikaylah Wilson (So., F, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) was shooting just 28.3 percent (13-of-46), but starting six games ago, things have taken a turn for the better. In the last six games, all of them starts, Wilson is averaging 6.3 ppg, has gone 20-of-39 (51.3 percent) and averaged 4.5 rebounds. In addition, over that stretch, she has seven steals and seven blocks.
IT'S ALL ABOUT POSITIONING
This season, Fieme'a Hafoka (Jr. , G, Kihei, Maui) has returned to her natural position, a wing, after a year out of position at trail post. After 18 games the change is paying dividends. Hafoka's scoring average is up to 9.2 ppg from 6.1 per game last year and that is just the beginning. Her shooting percentages are all up...field goal percentage is up from .355-to-.422, three-point field goal percentage is .351 this year compared to .243 a year ago and the free throw shooting us up to .750 from .600. In addition, her assists and steals averages are up from 1.8-to-2.4 and 1.2-to-1.3, respectively.
Earlier this season, Hafoka set her career scoring-high with 17 points against Pacific (11/29) and then matched it against Santa Clara (12/15).
CYD IS NO KID
Cydni Lewis (So., F, Long Beach, Calif.) has emerged as one of the Spartans most dangerous threats...inside and outside, on offense and defense. Lewis ranks first on the team in rebounds (4.8/g) and blocks (1.0/g), and is tied for its leading scoring (9.2/g). She is the squads third best percentage shooter (.368) among those that have attempted at least eight shots per game, leads the team in three-point shooting accuracy (.412) and has gone to the line a team-high 60 times, knocking down 40 of them (.667).
IT'S A THREE THING
Offensively the Spartans are not shy when it comes to long distance shooting. Nationally, SJSU ranks 46th in three-point attempts, 69th in three-pointers made and 49th in three-pointers per game.
In the 2017-18 season, two Spartans set program records for making threes. Analyss Benally (Jr., G, Shiprock, N.M.) sank 60, which are the most by a sophomore in program history and the ninth most by a Spartan in a single season. Coming into the Utah State game, her 94 career three-pointers place her seven away from the top-10 on the program's career list.
Megan Anderson (So., G, Fresno, Calif.) dropped in 46 treys in 2017-18, a freshman record for San José State women's basketball and the 18th most for a single-season in program history. In addition to her program record, Anderson led all Mountain West freshmen and was the fourth most accurate freshman three-point shooter in the nation last season at .438. Her .438 three-point shooting percentage is also a single-season record for the program. Her 76 career-threes entering the Utah State game rank 14th all-time and her career .390 three-point shooting percentage is the best in program history.
MORE CAREER-LIST FACTS
In addition to Benally and Anderson, who are firmly planted on the SJSU women's basketball all-time lists, three other Spartans appear in the career record book.
With a pair of three-pointers at Fresno State (1/3), Andrea Kohlhaas (Sr., F, Besigheim, Germany) moved into the top-25 on the program's three-point list. Entering the Utah State game she has 50 threes in her career and sits in 23rd place on the career list and is two from equaling Nyre Harris (2014-16) for 22nd place. Kohlhaas not only launches threes, she makes them at a .333 percentage rate which ranks eighth on the program's career list.
With one blocked shot at Air Force (1/26), Cydni Lewis (So., F, Long Beach, Calif.) tied San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame member Lora Alexander (1988-90) for 16th place on the career list giving her 51 in 48 games. If she continues on her career per game pace for this season (1.0/g), she would finish the regular season with 66 career blocks which would slot her into 10th place on the career list.
Alexis Harris (Jr., C, Palo Alto, Calif.) has swatted 41 shots in 69 career games for an average of 0.6 blocks per game which slots her into 21st place on the blocked shots per game list.
With five assists against UNLV (1/19), Danae Marquez (So., PG, Fresno, Calif.) moved into the program's top-25 and now has 166 dimes for her Spartans career and sits in 24th place. She is two assists from equaling Alisha Hicks (2005-08) for 23rd place.
MORE ON MARQUEZ
Point guard Danae Marquez (So., PG, Fresno, Calif.), who had two starts last season, is making a big impact this year, getting starts in 15 fo the 17 games in which she has appeared this season, but it goes well beyond that. Marquez has upped her scoring from 5.2-to-6.1 points per game as well as increasing her assists from 3.3-to-4.0 a game. Her steals are up to 1.5 per game from 1.2, but perhaps the biggest surprise is she is fourth on the team in rebounding. The 5-5 guard is grabbing 3.2 rebounds per game.
FAST BREAKS
Fieme'a Hafoka (Jr., G, Kihei, Maui) Captain...equaled her career-high with 17 points vs. Santa Clara (12/15) and shooting a team-best .422 from the field.
Analyss Benally (Jr., G, Shiprock, N.M.) has hit 112 buckets in her career, 94 of which are three pointers. She leads the team with 33 threes this year.
Cydni Lewis (So., F, Long Beach, Calif.) leads the team in blocks (18), rebounds (4.8/g) which rank eighth and 18th in the MW, respectively.
Danae Marquez (So., PG, Fresno, Calif.) leads the team with 68 assists (4.0/g) which ranks sixth in the Mountain West. She is fourth on the team (3.2/g) and set a single-game best with eight rebounds against CSUB (11/24). Is 15-of-15 from the free throw line.
Raziya Potter (Fr., G, Tracy, Calif.) at San Diego (12/21) led the team with 15 points (6-of-9 FG) and added four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. The team's third-leading scorer (9.1 ppg) and third in assists (2.1/g).
Megan Anderson (So., G, Fresno, Calif.) has made at least one three-pointer in 38-of-48 career-games. Hit a season-high four three-pointers at Air Force (1/26). Last season led team with a .438 three-point shooting percentage. Led all Mountain West freshmen and ranked fourth in the nation among freshman three-point percentage shooters. Program's best career three-point shooter (.390)
Alexis Harris (Jr., C, Palo Alto, Calif.) set career-highs with 9 rebounds & 4 blocks vs. Southern Oregon (12/20/17). Ranks 21st on the program's career shots blocked per game list (0.6/g) & swatted two at Air Force (1/26).
Courtesy Clark (So., G, Sacramento, Calif.) equaled a career-high 8 pts against SFSU (11/6) and has already equaled or set new career bests in three-pointers, assists and steals.
Andrea Kohlhaas (Sr., F, Besigheim, Germany) Captain...returned to action against SFSU (11/6) after a year rehabbing a leg injury sustained in the fifth game of last season. Ranks 23rd on program's career three-point list (50). This season 13-of-15 buckets have been 3-pointers and her .333 three-point field goal percentage is eighth all-time.
Nefer León (Fr., G, Vitoria, Spain) scored a season-best five points at San Diego (12/21) and equaled it at Boise State (1/12).
Mikaylah Wilson (So., F, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) is shooting .513 (20-of-39) in the last six games.