Fresno, Calif. – Forward Tyra Whitehead tallied a career-high 28 points and senior Fieme'a Hafoka added 15 but it was first-place Fresno State who escaped with a 78-76 victory at the Save Mart Center on Wednesday.
After trailing by 12 early on, San José State used a quick 10-2 run to pull within 16-12 in the final minute of the opening quarter. The game would go back and forth from that point on as neither team held a lead of more than eight points the rest of the way.
In all, Wednesday's contest featured 12 lead changes and eight ties.
"We had a great chance there to knock off the conference's only undefeated team," said Fresno product Danae Marquez. "It's a hard loss but we battled and gave them a great game."
The visitors from Silicon Valley outscored the Bulldogs 21-16 in the second stanza and earned their first lead of the game on a Raziya Potter jumper with just under five minutes remaining in the half. That made the score 26-24, and it was a Whitehead layup on the team's final possession of the quarter that pulled the Spartans to within 34-33 at the halftime break.
In addition to her offensive explosion, Whitehead would finish the night with 12 rebounds to tally her 10th double-double of the season.
Just as it did in the first half, the home team came out of the locker rooms shooting strong from beyond the arc. But just as it did in the first half, San José State would have an answer.
Down by eight with just under nine minutes remaining, the Spartans would go on a quick 7-2 binge to get right back in the game. Whitehead started the burst with a clutch jumper, and it was Marquez who drilled a three to pull her team within 63-60 at the six minute mark.
The lead would switch hands six times in the game's final four minutes, a stretch that started with Hafoka drilling a three with three and a half to go. That made the score 69-67, and it was yet another Hafoka triple that put SJSU on top 76-74 with 1:19 left.
Hafoka are you serious?!? pic.twitter.com/XaRxJzji75
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) February 13, 2020
The game's final lead change came with just under three seconds remaining as Fresno State found a go-ahead basket in the paint. Whitehead was able to answer on the other end of the floor but after video review, it was determined her game-tying attempt did not beat the buzzer.
San José State ended the night with an edge in points off turnovers (10-9), second chance points (16-14) and bench points (12-3). The team shot the ball at a 43.7 percent clip from the field.
Fresno product Megan Anderson had a sharp game from beyond the arc, going three-of-six from three-point range. Anderson's triple with six and a half minutes left in the third quarter marked the 165th of her career, moving the junior into the top-five on San José State's all-time list for three-pointers.
The second-place Spartans will return home now, playing host to Air Force on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center.