San José, Calif. – Hot shooting and dominant play from start to finish led San José State to a statement victory over the Mountain West's defending champion and preseason favorite on Wednesday night.
Led by three scorers in double figures in front of 1,362 fans at the Provident Credit Union Event Center, the Spartans (15-6, 9-1 Mountain West) led by as many as 17 points en route to an impressive 74-61 win over visiting Boise State. The win gives the team its sixth straight victory, marking the program's longest winning streak since the 2005-06 season.
"That's a solid win against a team that has been the leader of this conference for the last three years," said head coach Jamie Craighead after the victory. "We've had this one earmarked since we started working in July. I'm just really proud of my kids and their effort tonight."
SJSU was led by sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo and junior Tyra Whitehead in this one. Basallo led all scorers with 28 points and five rebounds while Whitehead was just behind her point guard, notching 21 points while grabbing six boards.
ayzhiana basallo. 'nuff said. pic.twitter.com/HgfJLepak1
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) January 30, 2020
There were three lead changes and a trio of ties in Wednesday's game as the home team held an advantage for 28 of the contest's 40 minutes. They started the game with solid play on both ends of the floor, and it was a tough Basallo jumper as time expired in the first quarter that pulled her team to within a point at 15-14.
Another buzzer beater, this time via guard Megan Anderson, capped an explosive 25-point second quarter for San José State and gave the team all the momentum in the world with a 40-31 halftime lead.
Some hot shooting from the Broncos (14-8, 6-4) to start the second half allowed the visitors to trim their deficit to 48-43 with three and a half minutes remaining in the third stanza, but the Spartans were able to close the quarter with an answer of their own. The team ended the frame with buckets on five consecutive possessions - three of them from a white-hot Whitehead - to take a commanding 59-47 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
The visitors from Boise would pull within six points in that final quarter but a prompt 13-2 run erased any doubt in the outcome.
A Basallo layup with three minutes remaining pushed the lead to 68-53, this coming before the sophomore buried all six of her free throw attempts in the final 1:45 to put a bow on the victory. The final tally was 74-61, improving SJSU's record to 9-1 on Walt McPherson Court this season.
Anderson finished the night with 11 points on a trio of makes from three-point range while also leading the team on the glass with eight rebounds.
"Most teams play me really tight on the three-point line and I've realized that I need to start contributing in other ways," Anderson said when asked about her productive night on the boards. "I have been trying to implement rebounding into my game and that's been a huge key for us."
The team ultimately shot at a 43.5% clip from the field and was absolutely lethal at the free throw line, making 17 of their 19 attempts. San José State ended the contest turning Boise State over 11 times while outscoring its opponent 36-28 in the paint.
The Broncos haven't lost a game by more than 13 points against a non-power five opponent since Feb. 3, 2018 (77-54 at UNLV). SJSU ended the month of January with a 7-1 record with the win, matching the program's second-best January in school history (also went 7-1 in 1981-82).
The Spartans will now look for their seventh straight victory and a sixth straight win on the road as they visit Wyoming on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. (MT) at Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.