San José, Calif. - Undefeated at home this season, San José State returns to the Provident Credit Union Event Center to play host to La Verne on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Off to their best start since the 2004-05 season, the Spartans are fresh off an 84-67 victory over San Diego State last Saturday. The team was led by a 20-point performance for sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo in the victory, a point guard who leads the nation in total points and tops the Mountain West with an average of 22.6 points per game.
This will be the first-ever meeting between SJSU and La Verne. In addition, it marks the first-ever game for the program against an SCIAC opponent.
The Leopards currently own a 6-2 record and will be in action on Thursday at Fresno State before making the trip to Silicon Valley. Sophomore Jazzlyn Johnson has impressed for La Verne, leading the team with an average of 11.9 points per game. It's freshman Charnpreet Takher who tops the team on the glass, pulling down 7.3 rebounds per game for the Leopards.
A win on Saturday would mark SJSU's seventh victory in its last eight games and move the team's record to five games above .500 for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign.
Saturday's contest will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with Daniel Barrera on the call. Fans can also follow the Spartans on social media all season long by following @SanJoseStateWBB on Twitter or @sjswbb on Instagram.
STORYLINES
LOOK AT LA VERNE
Saturday's meeting will serve as the 10th game of the season for La Verne. The team currently owns a 6-2 record and will play at Fresno State on Thursday before making the trip to Silicon Valley. Coming off a 12-13 season a year ago, the Leopards have tallied wins in six of their last seven games after dropping their season opener in double overtime. Their most recent game featured one of their best offensive performances of the year, a 101-69 victory over Bethesda on Tuesday.
Sophomore Jazzlyn Johnson has impressed for La Verne, leading the team with an average of 11.9 points per game. It's freshman Charnpreet Takher who tops the team on the glass, pulling down 7.3 rebounds per game for the Leopards.
Saturday's game will mark the end of a two-game, Division I road trip for La Verne. The program faced both D-I Utah Valley and Weber State on consecutive days last season, a stretch that started with an 86-79 defeat to the Wolverines.
AN SJSU WIN WOULD
> Move SJSU to five games above .500 for 1st time since 2004-05
> Give program first-ever win over an SCIAC opponent (0-0)
> Be better than a loss
SJSU VS. THE SCIAC
Saturday's meeting will mark the first-ever contest between a current SCIAC school and San José State. Founded in 1915, the conference consists of nine athletic programs from small private schools throughout Southern California.
UCLA, San Diego State and UC Santa Barbara are all former members of the league. This is La Verne's third stint in the SCIAC as the Leopards have been a member in this iteration since 1971.
AYZHIANA AWARDED AGAIN
Point guard Ayzhiana Basallo garnered her fourth and fifth weekly awards of the season on Monday. The sophomore was named the College Sports Madness High-Major Player of the Week (and Mountain West Player of the Week) after leading her team to a pair of victories to tip-off conference play. Basallo had previously earned back-to-back Mountain West Player of the Week awards from the conference office last month.
BACK TO NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Spartans will return to non-conference action for three more games after making its earliest start to Mountain West play in program history last week. The team will host La Verne on Saturday before taking to Lahaina for contests against BYU and Northern Arizona next week.
NOT BAD FOR STARTERS
San José State is off to a 2-0 start in conference play for the first time since the 2015-16 season. SJSU started 3-0 that year, beating Utah State, Air Force and San Diego State to start Mountain West play.
ASSIST U
San José State is ranked No. 6 nationally with 180 assists in 10 games. Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo is slotted fourth in the country in that category, dishing out a total of 60 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 (3.5 APG) and Raziya Potter (2.9 APG) are following closely behind their running mate.
ASSIST U (CONTINUED)
Three different players - Ayzhiana Basallo, Danae Marquez and Fieme'a Hafoka - moved the ball with plenty of efficiency in Saturday's victory over San Diego State as each finished the afternoon with five assists. Marquez, a freshman at the time, was a part of the program's last game with three players dishing out at least five assists, joining Myzhanique Ladd and Taylor Turney in a 2017 overtime victory at rival Santa Clara.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The victory over SDSU improved San José State's record to 5-0 at home this season. This is the program's best start at the Provident Credit Union Event Center since opening the 2014-15 campaign with six straight wins at home.
IT'S A (GOOD) START
San José State's 7-3 record marks the program's best mark through 10 games since the 2004-05 campaign. That team also started 7-3 en route to an 18-12 season.
ROAD WARRIORS (OR SPARTANS)
San José State's 76-61 victory at Utah State last week marked the team's second road win of the season. This is the earliest the program has tallied multiple road victories since the 2004-05 campaign, when it knocked off UC Irvine, San Francisco and New Mexico State all away from home within the team's first seven games.
THREE'S COMPANY
San José State finished its victory over Eastern Washington last 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.
20 ON 22's 20TH
Point guard Danae Marquez celebrated her 20th birthday in fine fashion last 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.
THEY'RE FREE FOR A REASON
Point guard Ayzhiana Basallo ranks first (as in, no one is better) in all of Division I in made free throws. The sophomore's 72 makes on 79 attempts leads the nation, while San José State as a whole is ranked No. 4 nationally in made free throws with 160.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The team's pair of Division I transfers - Ayzhiana Basallo and Tyra Whitehead - are off to an explosive start to the season. The duo have combined for five double-doubles on the year and five weekly awards.
CALL IT A COMEBACK
San José State rallied from as many as 14 points down at one point before emerging for its 95-88 victory over Buffalo last month. The team made huge second half surges in its back-to-back wins over both the Bulls and San Diego, outscoring its opponents 53-25 in the third quarter alone.
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.