San José, Calif. – Still firing on all cylinders after one of its best seasons in program history, Buffalo rolled into the Provident Credit Union Event Center having not lost a game since the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
That streak would come to a halt on Thursday against San José State.
Led by a second straight double-double performance for sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo, the Spartans (4-2) ran the Bulls (4-1) for a thrilling 95-88 victory. A total of five Spartans finished the night scoring in double figures as the team put together its best offensive performance of the young season when it was needed the most.
"What a win," said head coach Jamie Craighead after the victory. "Our players battled and took over that game in the second half. It was a display of good team basketball and a great team win."
It was guard Megan Anderson who led the Spartans with 19 points, while Basallo (18 points, 10 assists) and forward Tyra Whitehead (18 points, eight rebounds) were right behind the junior. Point guard Danae Marquez added 12 points off the bench while sophomore Raziya Potter added 10 of her own to help pace the team.
Both teams shot the lights out of the gym early, and while the visitors from New York were able to open up a double-digit lead late in the first half, it was a late flurry of points from the home team that gave SJSU all the momentum headed into the locker rooms at the break.
Sparked by a Whitehead jumper and a mini 5-0 run by Basallo, San José State was able to turn a 14-point deficit into a 48-41 score at halftime. It then came out red-hot to start the second half, tallying the first nine points of the third quarter to take its first lead since the first two minutes of the game.
The advantage was reclaimed on a corner three from Anderson, one of 12 triples the club buried on the night. It finished the game shooting at a 50 percent clip from beyond the three-point line.
"That wasn't our best basketball," Anderson said when asked about the first half. "We got fired up in that locker room at halftime. We knew what we needed to do and we came out and got the job done."
The Spartans continued to get the job done all throughout the second half. A Marquez three in transition gave the team a double-digit lead of their own with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, and that advantage was extended to 71-59 on a Fieme'a Hafoka steal and layup to put a lid on one of the team's best quarters of the year.
Buffalo pulled to within a point with five minutes left in the game, but a quick 11-3 burst stretched the SJSU right back up to 86-77. The team then held firm in the closing minutes, making clutch stop after clutch stop while converting at the free throw line to put this one on ice.
It was Hafoka who went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final 15 minutes, putting a bow on her team's 95-88 victory.
"That is a program that's very well-respected around the country," Craighead said. "When you have a chance to make a statement like that, you need to do it. It was great to see."
Undefeated no more ?
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) November 22, 2019
Here's how we handed Buffalo its first loss of the year ?? pic.twitter.com/EKYoJz3yQg
This marks San José State's third consecutive victory, giving the program its longest winning streak since it won five straight games in the 2015-16 season. It also marks the program's first-ever victory over a school from the MAC.
It also improves the team to 3-0 at home this year, a record it will put on the line against another undefeated team in San Diego on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off for that one is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Event Center.