San José, Calif. – An explosive first quarter and strong defensive play throughout the second half paved the way to another victory for San José State on Saturday.
The 69-64 win marks the program's first-ever regular season sweep of Colorado State while also clinching a first round bye in next month's Mountain West Tournament. The Spartans now enter the final week of the regular season in a tie for third place and are just one game back of second-place Boise State in the loss column. This is the first season the program has earned a first round bye in the conference tournament since the 2015-16 campaign (entered as the No. 4 seed).
Saturday's game featured four lead changes and six ties as the home team never trailed by more than two possessions. The five-point win marked the team's second of the season against the Rams after winning 58-53 in Fort Collins.
SJSU (16-11, 10-6 Mountain West) was paced by a pair of sensational sophomores in the backcourt in this one. Raziya Potter came off the bench to lead all scorers with a career high 20 points while point guard Ayzhiana Basallo tallied 16 points to go along with eight assists. Potter became the first Spartan to score 20+ points off the bench in a conference game since Emily Vann did so on Feb. 27, 2016 (20 vs. Utah State).
Guard Megan Anderson was the other scorer in double figures, tallying 12 points while pulling down four rebounds.
"I noticed I wasn't in my own head today," said Potter after the victory. "In this one I just came out with a lot of energy and effort. Everything started to click early on."
?? Bye, Bye, Bye ??
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) February 23, 2020
Back in the win column to clinch a first round bye in next month's @MountainWest Championships! pic.twitter.com/zX5eVpqEYi
Things started to click early and often for Potter and company as the team exploded for 24 first quarter points. Potter came off the bench and had seven of those, helping her team to a slim 32-31 advantage at the halftime break.
San José State outscored the visitors from Colorado by nine in the third period as one of the nation's top third quarter teams came out of the locker rooms sound on both ends of the floor.
Leading 38-35, the Spartans used a 9-2 run to take their largest of the game late in the quarter. Forward Tyra Whitehead got the burst underway with a make at the free throw line, and it was guard Courtesy Clark who put her team up 47-37 with a make from three-point range.
Clark made her first career start on Saturday and ended the afternoon with eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
.@curtyagurl gets her first career start underway with a triple! pic.twitter.com/gWiWfvwUZW
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) February 22, 2020
Colorado State would trim the deficit to just two points with 30 seconds remaining but it was the conference's leading scorer who secured the victory with some clutch shooting at the charity stripe. The Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year semifinalist hit three free throws in the game's final 27 seconds to salt the game away, and it was Potter who had a fitting end to her game with a last-second layup that sealed the deal on the 69-64 win.
"It feels nice to get back in the win column," head coach Jamie Craighead said. "We dug in there and made some plays when we needed to. We finished the game better than we have closed out the last few so it was definitely nice to see some growth there."
The Spartans will look to continue their winning ways when they return to action on Monday for Senior Night against Utah State. Tip-off for that one is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center.