San José, Calif. - Winners of three straight and seven of its last eight, San José State will return to action this week at the Maui Jim Maui Classic in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Boasting an 8-3 record entering the final week of non-conference play, the Spartans are fresh off a record-setting, 128-62 victory over La Verne on Saturday. The team set a school record for points in a single game and margin of victory while seeing three players end the afternoon with a double-double.
SJSU will meet BYU on Wednesday night before finishing the week against Northern Arizona on Thursday. The program is 2-3 all-time against the Cougars while owning a 2-4 record against the Lumberjacks.
BYU heads to Lahiana with a record of 4-4 on the season and has been led by guard Paisley Johnson, leading the team with an average of 15.4 points per game. It's center Sara Hamson who tops the team on the glass, pulling down 8.9 rebounds per game for the Cougars.
Northern Arizona is 2-5 and will face Oregon State on Wednesday before clashing with Spartans. Florida Atlantic transfer Jacey Bailey currently tops the team with an average of 14.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Fans can also follow the Spartans on social media all season long by following @SanJoseStateWBB on Twitter or @sjswbb on Instagram.
STORYLINES
BREAKING DOWN BYU
Wednesday's meeting will serve as the ninth game of the season for BYU. The team currently owns a 4-4 record, most recently earning a 71-57 victory over Utah Valley on Saturday. Coming off a 26-7 season a year ago, the Cougars advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before dropping a tightly contested game at Stanford.
Guard Paisley Johnson has impressed for BYU, leading the team with an average of 15.4 points per game. It's center Sara Hamson who tops the team on the glass, pulling down 8.9 rebounds per game for the Cougars.
San José State is 1-1 all-time against BYU in neutral site contests. The last neutral site meeting came on November 23, 1979, where the Spartans earned a 92-86 victory at the Plainview Queen's Tournament in Plainview, Texas.
AN SJSU WIN WOULD
> Give the program multiple winning streaks of at least four games in a season for first time since the 1981-82 campaign.
> Give the program its first victory against BYU since 1980.
> Be better than a loss.
NAVIGATING NORTHERN ARIZONA
Northern Arizona has played seven games this season and will face Oregon State in Lahaina on Wednesday before meeting the Spartans. The team heads to the Islands with a record of 2-5 after falling 71-61 against UC Davis on Dec. 8. The Lumberjacks went 13-18 a year ago and saw their season come to a close in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament.
Florida Atlantic transfer Jacey Bailey currently tops the team with an average of 14.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Guard Caitlin Malvar has been distributing the ball at an efficient rate for Northern Arizona, dishing out an average of 5.6 assists per game.
The Spartans are 1-1 all-time at neutral sites against the Lumberjacks. The program's last neutral site victory came on December 5, 1992, when SJSU earned a 62-50 victory at the Saint Mary's Classic in Moraga, Calif.
SJSU VS. THE WCC
Overall, San José State is 68-112 against the current make up of schools in the WCC. The Spartans have already beaten one WCC opponent this season, knocking off then-undefeated San Diego for an 88-82 victory back on Nov. 23. Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo led the Spartans in that one, dropping 33 points and dishing out nine assists en route to the win.
SJSU VS. THE BIG SKY
San José State is 42-50 against the current make up of schools in the Big Sky. The Spartans are already 2-0 against the conference this season, defeating Eastern Washington and Sacramento State last month.
AYZHIANA'S AWARDS
Point guard Ayzhiana Basallo has already garnered five weekly awards this season. The sophomore was named the College Sports Madness High-Major Player of the Week (and Mountain West Player of the Week) back on Dec. 9 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.
MAKING MAUI HISTORY
Senior Fieme'a Hafoka will make a bit of history when she steps on the floor for Wednesday's game against BYU, becoming the first-ever Maui native to play in a Division I women's basketball game on the island. Hafoka is a product of Kihei, Hawaii and played many of her high school games in the Lahaina Civic Center.
SPARTANS ON THE ISLANDS
San José State has played 29 games in the state of Hawaii, with all of the previous contests being played in Honolulu. The program went 1-2 in its last trip, beating the Rainbow Wahine before falling to No. 7 Mississippi State and Oregon in the 2016 Rainbow Wahine Showdown.
SJSU IN MTEs
San José State has played in 14 multi-team exempt events since the turn of the century, most recently competing at the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off in Stockton, Calif. in 2017. Its last win in an MTE came in the 2016 Rainbow Wahine Showdown, a 77-61 victory at Hawaii.
The Spartans will be searching for their first 2-0 showing in an MTE since they beat Yale and Marist at the 2003 Doubletree Classic in New Orleans. The Maui Jim Maui Classic was first held in 2016, with BYU and Oregon State competing in that event as well.
HAWAIIAN HOMECOMING
Senior Fieme'a Hafoka won't be the only Spartan returning to her home state this week. Freshman Kalina Obrey is a Honolulu native and is the state's reigning USA Today and Gatorade Player of the Year after shining in her senior season at Kamehameha Kapalama High School.
WELCOME WHITEHEAD
Grad transfer Tyra Whitehead is already making plenty of noise in her first year on campus at San José State. The Wake Forest product ranks No. 7 in all of Division I with 74 made field goals and has already tallied four double-doubles on the season.
BASALLO BREAKDOWN
Whitehead isn't the only transfer to make an early difference this season. Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo is off to the best individual start to a season in program history, ranking first nationally in made free throws (74) and second in total points (234). San José State's 84.5 points per game currently ranks No. 8 for scoring offense in Division I and the team's 128 points in Saturday's victory set a program record for points in a single game.
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.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The victory over La Verne improved San José State's record to 6-0 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 marked 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 earlier this month 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.
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.
SPARTANS IN THE NEWS
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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.