San José, Calif. - Fresh off a thrilling, 72-70 victory in overtime at Nevada, San José State will stay on the road and look to continue its winning ways on Saturday at Colorado State.
The Rams come into the weekend with a record of 8-7 (2-2 Mountain West) and have been led by a pair of upperclassmen in the form of senior Andrea Brady and junior Megan Jacobs, each of whom top the team with 10.7 points per game. Brady also tops the team on the glass, pulling down an average of 8.2 rebounds per game.
The Spartans boast the conference's leading scorer and the nation's top guard in the form of Ayzhiana Basallo. The sophomore is the only player in the country to average at least 20 points and 5.5 assists per game as the month of January rolls on.
Forward Tyra Whitehead is also enjoying quite the stretch of basketball, posting the program's second-ever 20 point/20 rebound game on Saturday before tallying her seventh double-double of the season in Reno.
Saturday's contest will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with Matt Wozniak 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
CHECKING ON COLORADO STATE
Saturday's meeting will serve as the 16th game of the season for Colorado State. The team currently owns an 8-7 record, most recently handing Wyoming its first conference loss in a 56-49 victory in Laramie on Saturday. The Rams are off to a 2-2 start to Mountain West play this season.
It's a pair of upperclassmen who pace the Colorado State offense as senior Andrea Brady and junior Megan Jacobs top the team with 10.7 points per game. Brady also tops the team on the glass, pulling down an average of 8.2 rebounds per game.
The Rams are 6-3 inside the friendly confines of Moby Arena this season. They enter having won back-to-back home games, taking down Mississippi Valley State (65-46) and Nevada (75-70) in Fort Collins.
AN SJSU WIN WOULD
> Give the program a win in first four conference road games for first time since 1978-79 (went 12-0 overall in NorCal play)
> Give program its second-ever win at Colorado State (and second in as many seasons)
> Believe it or not, be better than a loss
SJSU VS. THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Overall, San José State is 115-221 against the current make up of schools in the Mountain West. The Spartans enter having won eight of their last 11 conference games, the most recent victory coming at Nevada on Wednesday.
Forward Tyra Whitehead led her team in the 72-70 overtime victory at Lawlor Events Center, tallying 18 points and 14 rebounds in the winning effort. After Saturday's tilt, San José State's next Mountain West game will come back at home against UNLV on Wednesday.
ROAD WARRIORS (OR SPARTANS)
San José State's win at Nevada on Wednesday accomplished something that hadn't been done by the program in 37 years. The Spartans are off to a 3-0 start in conference road games for the first time since the 1982-83 campaign, a season in which the team took down San Francisco, Fresno State and Washington State all away from home to tip-off NorPac play.
WORKING OVERTIME
Wednesday's victory in Reno marked SJSU's second straight game decided in overtime. The program hadn't played back-to-back overtime games since the 2002-03 season, topping Tulsa (88-86) and UTEP (87-84) in the first week of March.
CALL IT A COMEBACK
The Spartans now own five victories on the year after trailing at halftime: at UC Santa Barbara (down four at half, win by three); Buffalo (down seven, win by seven); San Diego (down seven, win by four); at New Mexico (down 10, win by one); at Nevada (down six, win by two).
20/20 CLUB
Grad transfer TyraWhitehead became just the second player in program history to join the 20/20 Club on Saturday, tallying 22 points and 20 rebounds against Fresno State. Whitehead is just the 13th player in all of Division I to accomplish the feat this season and is the first to do so at San José State since Lora Alexander poured in 27 points and grabbed 20 rebounds against UC Santa Barbara on February 23, 1989.
MORE WHITEHEAD
Forward Tyra Whitehead has been producing all year in her first season on-campus at San José State. The Wake Forest transfer ranks No. 9 in all of Division I and is first in the Mountain West with 162 rebounds. Her seven double-doubles on the season slots her at second in the conference and 17th nationally in that category.
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, her second of the year from CSM) 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 in November.
BASALLO BREAKDOWN
Whitehead isn't the only transfer to make an early difference this season. Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo is playing as well as any guard in the country, ranking 13th nationally in points per game (20.4) and No. 11 in assists with 5.6 per game. She is also one of the nation's top free throw shooters, slotted seventh in Division I with 78 made free throws.
Basallo is the only player in the country averaging at least 20 points and 5.5 assists per game.
ACTUALLY, STEALING IS GOOD
San José State is ranked No. 4 nationally with 194 steals in 16 games. Forward Tyra Whitehead is slotted 26th in the country in that category with 39 thieveries on the year. Fieme'a Hafoka (29 steals), Danae Marquez (25) and Cydni Lewis(25) are also stealing the ball at a high rate as the month of January rolls on.
ASSIST U
The Spartans have made plenty of noise on the offensive end of the floor as well this season. San José State is currently ranked No. 3 in all of Division I with 298 assists and have been led by sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo, who is ranked No. 11 nationally with 5.6 assists per game. Guards Danae Marquez (4.0 per game) and Raziya Potter (3.3) are following closely behind Basallo on the SJSU assists list.
MAKING SOME PROGRAM HISTORY
San José State set multiple school records in its Dec. 14 victory over La Verne. The 128 points scored by the Spartans set a program record for scoring in a single game, topping its previous high of 119 (vs. Columbia, 2014). Its 66-point win broke a record for margin of victory that had stood since 1979 (65 vs. Cal Poly, 1979). In addition, SJSU's 44 made field goals matched the school record for makes in a single game, a mark that stood since Jan. 4, 1979 (44 vs. Arizona). Lastly, its 128 points is the second-most scored by a Division I team this season (Coastal Carolina, 132).
LEWIS HAD A MONTH
Forward Cydni Lewis was named the San José State Student Athlete of the Month for the month of December after shining in five appearances off the bench. Lewis averaged 10.4 points and grabbed 23 rebounds throughout the last month of 2019. Lewis was also named to the Maui Jim Maui Classic All-Tournament team after leading the Spartans in their two games in Lahaina.
FIRST AT THE PIT
San José State's 81-80 win on New Year's Day in Albuquerque marked the program's first-ever victory at New Mexico.
MAKING MAUI HISTORY
Senior Fieme'a Hafoka made a bit of history when she stepped on the floor on Dec. 18 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.
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.
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.