San José, Calif. - Currently enjoying its first five-game winning streak since the 2015-16 campaign, San José State will look to stay hot on Wednesday night as it hosts third-place Boise State.
The Broncos enter the week with a record of 14-7 (6-3 Mountain West) and are 4-4 on the road this season. It's Oregon transfer Mallory McGwire who paces the Boise State offense with an average of 12.6 points per game. McGwire also tops the team on the glass, pulling down 8.2 rebounds per game to lead the team in the post.
The Spartans boast the conference's leading scorer and one of the nation's most efficient guards in 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 winds to a close.
It was Basallo and forward Tyra Whitehead who led SJSU to a victory on Saturday at Air Force as Whitehead tallied her ninth double-double of the season in the winning effort. The forward's dominant week earned her the Mountain West Player of the Week award from the conference office.
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
THE BOOK ON BOISE STATE
Wednesday's meeting will serve as the 22nd game of the season for Boise State. The team currently owns a 14-7 record and has won three of its last four games. The Broncos are off to a 6-3 start to Mountain West play this season and sit in a tie for third place in the conference standings.
It's Oregon transfer Mallory McGwire who paces the Boise State offense with an average of 12.6 points per game. McGwire also tops the team on the glass, pulling down 8.2 rebounds per game to lead the team in the post.
The Broncos are 4-4 on the road this season, most recently tallying a 65-59 victory at Utah State back on Jan. 18.
AN SJSU WIN WOULD
> Mark the program's first six-game winning streak since the 2005-06 campaign
> Give team a record of 7-1 for the month of January, tying for second-best January in program history (1981-82)
> Be better than a loss
SJSU VS. THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Overall, San José State is 119-221 against the current make up of schools in the Mountain West. The Spartans enter having won nine of their last 10 conference games, the most recent victory coming at Air Force on Saturday.
Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo led her team in the 68-60 victory at Clune Arena, tallying 20 points while pulling down three rebounds. After Wednesday's tilt, San José State's next Mountain West game will come on Saturday at Wyoming.
ROAD WARRIORS (OR SPARTANS)
San José State is currently riding a five-game road winning streak, the program's longest since the 1978-79 season (school record is six). Its road winning streak is tied for the ninth longest in Division I and is the best in the Mountain West. Playing in some of the country's most difficult locations, the five venues the Spartans have won at in their current streak sit at a combined 26,333 feet above sea level.
SJSU already has six road wins in total on the 2019-20 campaign. This is the program's first season with more than five road victories since winning eight in the 2004-05 campaign. Lastly, the team's wins at Nevada and Colorado State earlier this month marked the program's first road sweep since the 2015-16 campaign (won at Air Force and Fresno State).
GOOD WAY TO START A YEAR
A win on Wednesday would give San José State a record of 7-1 for the month of January, which would tie the program's second-best January in school history (also went 7-1 in 1981-82). The 1978-79 Spartans have the current record, going 10-0 in the first month of the year en route to a 24-4 record.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
San José State is off to a 8-1 start to conference play, marking the program's best nine-game start to conference play in 41 years. The 1978-79 Spartans went 12-0 in NorPac action that season.
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. 38 in assists with 5.1 per game. She is also one of the nation's top free throw shooters, slotted fifth in Division I with a 91.9% clip at the charity stripe. Her 102 makes at the charity stripe has her just seven free throws away from cracking the program's top-10 list for made free throws in a single season.
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 17 games against Division I opponents and has reached the 20-point plateau in 11 of those. In addition, the point guard tops the Mountain West in both scoring and free throw percentage as the month of January winds to a close.
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 (1989).
MORE WHITEHEAD
Tyra Whitehead is the reigning Mountain West Player of the Week and College Sports Madness MW Player of the Week after tallying a pair of double-doubles in last week's sweep of New Mexico and Air Force. The Wake Forest transfer ranks No. 7 in all of Division I and is first in the Mountain West with 208 rebounds. Her nine double-doubles on the season slots her at second in the conference and 22nd nationally in that category. Whitehead has made 121 field goals on the season and is 75 makes away from breaking into the program's top-10 list for made field goals in a season. In addition, Whitehead is one of just two players nationally averaging 10+ rebounds and 2.5+ steals per game.
ACTUALLY, STEALING IS GOOD
San José State is ranked No. 9 nationally with 235 steals in 20 games. Forward Tyra Whitehead is slotted 25th in the country in that category with 49 steals. Guards Fieme'a Hafoka (37) and Danae Marquez (28) are also stealing the ball at a high rate as the month of January comes to an end.
CARDIAC SPARTANS
The Spartans have been one of the nation's top teams in the clutch this season, winning eight games decided by one or two possessions (Boise State is MW's next closest with six wins). Four of the five victories in this current five-game winning streak have come by five points or fewer, a stretch that started with a two-point win in overtime at Nevada.
CAREER RECORD WATCH
SJSU's pair of Fresno products in Megan Anderson and Danae Marquez are quickly closing in on some career milestones. Anderson needs just seven made three-pointers (currently at 158) to move up to No. 5 on San José State's all-time list, while Marquez needs seven (currently at 108) to crack the top-10. In addition, Marquez is four assists away (currently at 307) from ranking at No. 7 in Spartan program history for that category.
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).
ON THE BENCH
The Spartans are one of just three schools in the Mountain West (Air Force and Nevada) with an all-female coaching staff. This is head coach Jamie Craighead's seventh season with the Spartans while associate head coach Alle Moreno is now in her fifth year. Assistant coaches Carlotta Kloppenburg and Arielle Wideman joined the staff in 2018.
CALL IT A COMEBACK
SJSU has 25 halftime comeback wins under head coach Jamie Craighead in her seven seasons, a mark led by six comeback victories this year. Heading into the 2019-20 campaign, her teams' previous high was five halftime comebacks (2015-16 season). A full list of this season's halftime rallies is below, highlighted by the win at New Mexico:
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
SINGLE DIGIT DEFENSIVE QUARTERS (SINCE 2019)
San José State has tallied seven single-digit quarters on defense since the start of 2019, led by a five-point second quarter in February's 73-60 victory over Air Force:
7 vs. UNLV - 1st quarter (1/19/19)
7 vs. UNLV - 2nd quarter (1/19/19)
9 at San Diego State - 2nd quarter (2/2/19)
5 vs. Air Force - 2nd quarter (2/23/19)
8 at Utah State - 1st quarter (12/4/19)
9 at Colorado State - 4th quarter (1/11/20)
6 vs. UNLV - 4th quarter (1/15/20)
BEST MOUNTAIN WEST FINISHES FOR TEAMS SELECTED LAST IN PRESEASON POLL
The following are the best five finishes for teams selected last in the history of the Mountain West Preseason Poll:
Season Team Picked Finished
2019-20 San José State 11th Currently 2nd
2018-19 San José State 11th 9th
2017-18 Air Force 11th 8th
2011-12 Boise State 8th 6th
2007-08 Air Force 9th 7th
2005-06 Air Force 9th 7th
2019-20 HONORS
AYZHIANA BASALLO
College Sports Madness
High Major Player of the Week (Dec. 9)
Mountain West Player of the Week (Nov. 25, Dec. 9)
Mountain West
Player of the Week (Nov. 18, Nov. 25)
CYDNI LEWIS
Maui Jim Maui Classic
All-Tournament Team (Dec. 18-19)
San José State University
Student-Athlete of the Month (December, 2019)
TYRA WHITEHEAD
College Sports Madness
Mountain West Player of the Week (Jan. 27)
Mountain West
Player of the Week (Jan. 27)
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.