San José, Calif. – Playing at a pace that drivers in the Daytona 500 would be envious of, San José State outran and outplayed its opponent en route to a second straight victory on Sunday.
Led by a 21-point, 11-assist performance from the conference's leading scorer in Ayzhiana Basallo, the Spartans (3-2) rolled to a 73-67 victory over visiting Sacramento State in front of a crowd of 1,511 at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
"It was a quick turnaround but I thought our kids battled," said head coach Jamie Craighead after the victory. "We led most of the game and we did a great job of handling Sacramento State's pressure and tempo. Obviously we made enough plays to close it out so that was great to see."
Basallo led all scorers with 21 points but she wasn't the only Spartan to make a difference. Forward Tyra Whitehead tallied her third double-double of the season (15 points, 14 rebounds) and sophomore Raziya Potter added 17 points of her own to help pace her team.
Playing its second game in less than 40 hours, SJSU trailed 21-12 after the first quarter before finding its legs.
It would quickly find both its legs and shooting touch, opening the second stanza with a 20-3 run. A Megan Anderson triple with just over six minutes remaining in the half gave her side a 24-23 advantage, a lead that the home team would never relinquish.
The Spartans finished the afternoon with a 24-9 advantage in fastbreak points, something Anderson attributes to her team's quick point guards.
"It is always really important for us to get out on the break," the guard said. "Once we secure the rebound it's important for us to go as quicj as we can. Some of us are told to just sprint without looking for the ball so we can get to our spots and let the point guards find us as fast as possible."
Ahead 40-31 at the halftime break, San José State emerged from the locker rooms in the second half just as hot as it entered after the first. The team would extend its lead to as many as 11 points in the third quarter, the double-digit advantage coming via a huge and-one from Whitehead.
That lead was kept at a comfortable margin for the majority of the final 12 minutes and when the Hornets (1-2) pulled within 62-60, a quick 9-2 binge for the home team erased any thoughts of a comeback.
Sealing the deal on her team's victory and yet another 20-point performance, Basallo knocked down a pair of free throws to clinch the 73-67 win.
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— San Jose State WBB (@SanJoseStateWBB) November 18, 2019
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The win improved San José State to 3-2 on the season and marked its second straight victorious effort after winning at UC Santa Barbara on Friday night. The victory insured the program's best start through five games since the 2013-14 season.
The team will look to stay hot when it returns to the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Thursday, playing host to 4-0 Buffalo. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. against the Bulls.