San José, Calif. - Looking to build on the momentum gained from back-to-back wins and a Mountain West Player of the Week award, San José State will round out its three-game homestand with visits from undefeated Buffalo and San Diego this week.
The Bulls (4-0) will visit Provident Credit Union Event Center on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. while the tilt with the Toreros (2-0) is set for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off on Saturday.
SJSU was led by sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo in Sunday's victory over Sacramento State as the conference's reigning Player of the Week tallied a double-double of 21 points and 11 assists. She was one of two Spartans to record a double-double in the win as forward Tyra Whitehead exploded for 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Buffalo finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 24-10 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Both contests will be streamed on YouTube with Daniel Barrera behind the mic. Fans can also follow the Spartans on social media all season long by following @SanJoseStateWBB on Twitter or @sjswbb on Instagram.
STORYLINES
BOOK ON BUFFALO
Thursday's meeting will serve as the fifth game of the season for Buffalo. Coming off a 24-10 season a year ago that featured a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Bulls tipped off the 2019-20 campaign with a 61-56 victory over Central Connecticut State. They have also posted victories in their three game since, most recently edging Columbia for an 82-75 win. The team finished in third place in the MAC's East Division last season.
Freshman Dyaisha Fair has impressed early on for Buffalo, leading the team with an average of 26 points per game. It's senior Theresa Onwuka who has got the job done on the glass, pulling down an average of 7 rebounds per game.
Thursday's meeting tips off a stretch of five games away from home for the Bulls, a stretch that will continue on Sunday at No. 3 Stanford.
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO
San José State will have a quick turnaround between games as it meets San Diego at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off. The Toreros are undefeated through two games and will face Biola on Tuesday before making the trip to Silicon Valley.
They are led offensively by guard Myah Pace, enjoying a breakout junior season early on the 2019-20 campaign. Pace enters the weekend pacing San Diego with an average of averaging 15.0 points and 3.5 assists per game. Senior Patricia Brossmann is topping the team on the glass, averaging 10.5 rebounds per game.
SJSU VS. THE MAC
San José State is 0-3 against the current make up of schools in the MAC. Thursday's meeting with Buffalo will come nearly 17 years from the day of its last game against a MAC school, a 78-72 loss to Northern Illinois at the GranTree Thanksgiving Classic in Bozeman, Mont. The program's first-ever game against a MAC school came against Central Michigan on the 1989-90 campaign.
SJSU VS. THE WCC
Overall, San José State is 67-112 against the current make up of schools in the WCC. The last time the Spartans beat a WCC opponent was against Santa Clara, topping the Broncos for a 71-66 overtime victory at the Leavey Center on Nov. 28, 2017. Just a freshman at the time, current Spartan Cydni Lewis led her team with 14 points off the bench in that win.
San José State will face one more WCC opponent this year, meeting BYU in Lahaina on Dec. 18.
ASSIST U
San José State enters the week ranked No. 1 (as in, no one is better) nationally with 91 assists through two weeks of basketball. Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo is slotted second in the country in that category, dishing out a total of 30 assists thus far.
Basallo isn't the only member of the Spartan backcourt that has distributed the ball at a high rate. Guards Danae Marquez (3.8 APG) and Fieme'a Hafoka and Raziya Potter (2.6 APG) are following closely behind their running mate.
THREE'S COMPANY
San José State finished its victory over Eastern Washington earlier this month shooting 61 percent from three-point range (14-of-23). The mark set a single-game record for three-point percentage in the Jamie Craighead era at SJSU.
AYZHIANA AWARDED
Guard Ayzhiana Basallo brought in her first conference-wide award of the season on Monday as she was named the Mountain West Player of the Week. Helping lead San José State to back-to-back victories to close out a hectic stretch, the sophomore averaged 25.3 PPG and 7.67 APG while shooting 61% from the field in three games.
IT'S A (GOOD) START
San José State's win over Sacramento State on Sunday improved the team to 3-2 on the young season. The five-game record marks the program's best start since it opened the 2013-14 campaign with a tally of 4-1. After winning at UC Santa Barbara last week, the Gauchos turned around and upset then-undefeated USC on Monday night.
20 on 22's 20th
Point guard Danae Marquez celebrated her 20th birthday in fine fashion earlier this month, dropping 20 points to lead all scorers en route to her team's 84-66 victory over Eastern Washington. Not just a scoring threat, Marquez peppered the stat-sheet with three assists and one steal in the win.
FREE FOR ALL
No player in all of Division I has made more free throws than Ayzhiana Basallo. The sophomore's 31 makes on 35 attempts leads the nation, while San José State as a whole is ranked No. 12 nationally (72 total free throws made).
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Forward Tyra Whitehead is off to an explosive start in her first season at San José State. Whitehead has recorded three double-doubles in five appearances, a stat that has her slotted second nationally in the category.
NEW NAME, SAME PLACE
Provident Credit Union has signed on as the Spartan arena's naming rights partner to make it the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The president and CEO of Provident Credit Union is San José State grad Jim Ernest.
HOME SWEET HOME
San José State is undefeated at home after recording victories over Eastern Washington and Sacramento State. The 2-0 start at Provident Credit Union Event Center marks the program's first set of consecutive home victories to start a season since the 2014-15 campaign (119-76 vs. Columbia, 110-91 vs. Southern Oregon).
COACH AND PLAYER INTERVIEWS
All interview requests for coaches and players should be made through the SJSU Athletics Media Relations Office.
INCOMING
The Spartans have a pair of Division I transfers that will be eligible to play this season. Forward Tyra Whitehead arrives in Silicon Valley from Wake Forest and will have two years of eligibility to play while at SJSU. She is joined by guard Ayzhiana Basallo, arriving from Cal Poly after winning the Big West Sixth Player of the Year award as a freshman. Basallo has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEDIA INFORMATION
For any information concerning Mountain West basketball, contact Melissa Katz, Assistant Director of Strategic Communications. Mountain West information is also available online at www.themw.com.