San José, Calif. – Three was San José State's magic number on Wednesday as the Spartans tallied 15 three-pointers en route to their fourth straight victory.
Lighting up the scoreboard in front of 1,863 fans at the Provident Credit Union Event Center, SJSU exploded for 54 first half points before taking down New Mexico in an 89-85 win.
San José State (13-6, 7-1 Mountain West) was led by its pair of tremendous transfers in this one. Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo led all scorers with 26 points while forward Tyra Whitehead tallied 18 points and 16 rebounds.
The double-double is Whitehead's eighth of the season.
The Spartans led by as many as 20 points in Wednesday's game and held an advantage for 39 of the contest's 40 minutes. They came out firing on all cylinders from the outset, posting its best first quarter of the season with 31 points in the game's first 10 minutes.
"We knew it was going to be a war," said Whitehead after the victory. "I expected a battle but we punched first and then they punched back. Basketball is a game of runs so we didn't necessarily expect to be up 20 the whole game."
They did lead 54-42 at the halftime break, the hot shooting continuing well into the second quarter as the team enjoyed a stretch of five straight possessions with a made three-pointer.
San José State's 54 first half points was the program's most in the first 20 minutes of a conference game since Dec. 29, 2016 (56 vs. Nevada, won 107-84).
Some strong offense in their own right from the Lobos trimmed their deficit to 65-60 with two minutes remaining in the third stanza, but SJSU was able to close the quarter with some solid play on both ends to stretch the lead back out. Sparked by five quick points from Whitehead and a Megan Anderson layup, the home team closed the period on a 7-2 run to keep its advantage at double digits with just 10 minutes remaining.
New Mexico would pull within two points in that final quarter but was answered every time the margin was within one possession.
Whitehead's second-chance jumper with 1:15 to play made the score 87-82, and her counterpart in the backcourt was able to put the win on ice with a pair of free throws one minute later. The final tally was 89-85, improving San José State's record to 8-1 on Walt McPherson Court in the process.
"It became a possession game at the end and it came down to who could make enough plays," head coach Jamie Craighead said. "I was definitely proud of the team's effort. That's a good win but we still have to keep improving."
A pair of other Spartans - Cydni Lewis and Anderson - finished the day in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Forward Courtesy Clark also had a monster game off the bench, scoring eight points while grabbing eight rebounds in just 15 minutes on the floor.
The team ultimately made 15 of its 25 three-pointers, the 60% clip narrowly missing the program's Craighead-era record of 61% (set earlier this season against Eastern Washington).
The red-hot Spartans will go for their fifth straight on Saturday afternoon at Air Force. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. (MT) at Clune Arena.
