San José, Calif. - Coming off its first road sweep since the 2015-16 season, San José State returns home to tip-off a two-game homestand on Wednesday night against UNLV.
The Lady Rebels enter the week with a record of 8-8 (4-1 Mountain West) and own the conference's longest active winning streak at five games. It's senior Rodjanae Wade who paces the UNLV offense with an average of 14.3 points per game. Wade also tops the team on the glass, pulling down an average of 9.8 rebounds per game.
The Spartans boast the conference's leading scorer and one of the nation's top guards in the form of Ayzhiana Basallo. The sophomore is one of just two players nationally to average 20+ points and 5+ assists per game as the month of January rolls on.
It was Basallo and fellow sophomore Raziya Potter who led SJSU to a victory on Saturday at Colorado State as Potter tallied her second career double-double and had a career-high 19 points in the winning effort.
Wednesday'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
UNDERSTANDING UNLV
Wednesday's meeting will serve as the 17th game of the season for UNLV. The team currently owns an 8-8 record and has won five straight games. The Lady Rebels are off to a 4-1 start to Mountain West play this season and sit just a half game back of San José State in the conference standings.
It's senior Rodjanae Wade who paces the UNLV offense with an average of 14.3 points per game. Wade also tops the team on the glass, pulling down an average of 9.8 rebounds per game.
The Lady Rebels are 3-3 on the road this season and have won two straight away from home, taking down both Utah State (60-46) and Air Force (67-60).
AN SJSU WIN WOULD
> Give the program its best seven-game start to conference play since 1978-79 (went 12-0 overall in NorCal play)
> Improve record to 7-1 at home this season
> Be better than a loss
SJSU VS. THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Overall, San José State is 116-221 against the current make up of schools in the Mountain West. The Spartans enter having won nine of their last 12 conference games, the most recent victory coming at Colorado State on Saturday.
Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo led her team in the 58-53 victory at Moby Arena, tallying 26 points in the winning effort. After Wednesday's tilt, San José State's next Mountain West game will come back at home against New Mexico on Jan. 22.
ROAD WARRIORS (OR SPARTANS)
San José State has won its first four road games of conference play for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign, when the Spartans won at San Francisco, Santa Clara, Stanford and Fresno State in NorPac action. Its four-game road winning streak is tied for the 14th longest in Division I and is the best in the Mountain West.
SJSU already has five road wins on the 2019-20 campaign. The program has not had a season with more than five road victories since winning eight in the 2004-05 season. Finally, last week's wins at Nevada and Colorado State marked the program's first road sweep since the 2015-16 campaign (won at Air Force and Fresno State).
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
San José State is off to a 5-1 start to conference play, marking the program's best six-game start to conference play in 38 years. The 1981-82 Spartans opened that league season with a 5-1 mark in NorPac action.
CALL IT A COMEBACK
The Spartans now own six victories on the year after trailing at halftime:
2019-20 HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS
Nov. 15, 2019 / -4 at half / SJSU 73, at UC Santa Barbara 70
Nov. 21, 2019 / -7 at half / SJSU 95, Buffalo 88
Nov. 23, 2019 / -7 at half / SJSU 88, San Diego 82
Jan. 1, 2020 / -10 at half / SJSU 81, at New Mexico 80
Jan. 8, 2020 / -6 at half / SJSU 72, at Nevada 70 (OT)
Jan. 11, 2020 / -9 at half / SJSU 58, at Colorado State 53
BASALLO BREAKDOWN
Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo is playing as well as any guard in the country, ranking 10th nationally in points per game (20.8) and No. 23 in assists with 5.3 per game. Basallo currently has an assist on 34% of her teammates' baskets while on the floor. She is also one of the nation's top free throw shooters, slotted fifth in Division I with a 92.3% clip at the charity stripe.
Basallo is one of just two players nationally averaging 20+ points and 5+ assists per game. She has scored in double figures in each of her 14 games against Division I opponents and has reached the 20-point plateau in nine of those.
AYZHIANA'S AWARDS
Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo has already garnered five weekly awards this season. The guard 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.
20/20 CLUB
Grad transfer Tyra Whitehead became just the second player in program history to join the 20/20 Club on Jan. 4, tallying 22 points and 20 rebounds against Fresno State. Whitehead was 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. 12 in all of Division I and is first in the Mountain West with 172 rebounds. Her seven double-doubles on the season slots her at second in the conference and 27th nationally in that category.
ACTUALLY, STEALING IS GOOD
San José State is ranked No. 6 nationally with 202 steals in 17 games. Forward Tyra Whitehead is slotted 24th in the country in that category with 43 thieveries on the year. Fieme'a Hafoka (30 steals) and Cydni Lewis (26) are also stealing the ball at a high rate as the month of January rolls on.
THIRD QUARTER SUCCESS
The Spartans have been one of the nation's top third quarter teams this season, outscoring its opponents to the tune of a 366-290 (+76) margin. They posted a pair of 35-point third quarters in an 18 day span earlier in the year, coming out of the locker rooms red hot against La Verne and New Mexico.
MAKING SOME 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 (44 vs. Arizona on Jan. 4, 1979).
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
Be sure to bookmark our clips and links page for all of the latest San José State women's basketball coverage.
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.