San José, Calif. - Heading back on the road after knocking off Mountain West defending champion and preseason favorite Boise State, San José State will look to continue its winning ways on Saturday afternoon at Wyoming.
Saturday's contest will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with Reece Monaco and Margie McDonald 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
WATCHING WYOMING
Saturday's meeting will serve as the 20th game of the season for Wyoming. The team currently owns a 10-9 record and has won three of its last four games. The Cowgirls are off to a 6-4 start to Mountain West play this season and sit in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings.
It's sophomore Tereza Vitulova who paces the Wyoming offense with an average of 14.4 points per game. Vitulova also tops the team on the glass, pulling down 5.6 rebounds per game to lead the team in the post.
The Cowgirls are 6-4 at home this season on the nation's highest court (7,220 ft. above sea level). The Spartans have won five consecutive games at elevation, playing at a combined 26,333 feet in that stretch.
SJSU VS. THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Overall, San José State is 120-221 against the current make up of schools in the Mountain West. The Spartans enter having won 10 of their last 11 conference games, the most recent victory coming over defending champion and preseason favorite Boise State on Wednesday.
Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo led her team in the 74-61 victory at the Provident Credit Union Event Center, tallying 28 points while pulling down five rebounds. After Saturday's tilt, San José State's next Mountain West game will come on Feb. 8 at home against Nevada.
BASALLO BREAKDOWN
Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo is playing as well as any guard in the country, ranking ninth nationally in points per game (21.2) and No. 40 in assists with 5.0 per game. She is also one of the nation's top free throw shooters, slotted fourth in Division I with a 92.7% clip at the charity stripe. Her 114 makes at the charity stripe has her at No. 9 on the program's list for made fee throws in a single season (Ta'Rea Cunnigan is all-time leader at 178).
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 18 games against Division I opponents and has reached the 20-point plateau in 12 of those. In addition, the point guard tops the Mountain West in both scoring and free throw percentage as the month of February tips off.
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.
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
San José State finished the month of January with a record of 7-1, matching the program's second-best January in school history (also went 7-01 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 9-1 start to conference play, marking the program's best 10-game start to conference play in 41 years. The 1978-79 Spartans went 12-0 in NorPac action that season.
WINNING WAYS
The Spartans are now 15-6 on the season, clinching the program's first winning regular season since the 2004-05 campaign (went 17-11 in regular season).
WHITE(HEAD) NOISE
Forward 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. 10 in all of Division I and is first in the Mountain West with 214 rebounds. Her nine double-doubles on the season slots her at second in the conference and 25th nationally in that category. Whitehead has made 131 field goals on the season and is 65 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 2.4+ steals per game.
#BEATBOISE
San José State took down defending Mountain West champion and preseason favorite Boise State in a 74-61 victory on Wednesday. The victory marked the program's first-ever regular season win over the team picked in first place for the conference's preseason poll. 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).
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 six victories in this current six-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 four made three-pointers (currently at 161) 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 two assists away (currently at 309) 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
The Spartans own six victories on the season after trailing at halftime, highlighted by a 10-point halftime deficit 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)
Global Women's Sports Radio
Athlete of the Month (January, 2020)
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.