LAS VEGAS – The 2019-20 regular season came to a fitting end for San José State on Thursday night.
Having overcome adversity and large deficits all season long, the Spartans trailed by as many as 15 points at UNLV on Thursday before rallying for a commanding 76-63 victory.
The win clinched a tie at third place for SJSU in the final Mountain West standings, marking the best-ever finish for a team selected last in the conference's preseason media/coaches poll. It also gave the team its 18th win of the year, allowing it to finish the regular season with the nation's largest single-season win turnaround.
San José State (18-11, 12-6 Mountain West) was led by senior Fieme'a Hafoka and forward Tyra Whitehead in this one. Hafoka led the team with 16 points while Whitehead dominated on the glass, pulling down 15 rebounds and scoring 12 points herself. Playing in her final collegiate regular season game, Hafoka became the seventh Spartan to end a game as the team's leading scorer this year.
"I was just focused on getting the win," said Whitehead after the victory. "I played in this gym two years ago (with Wake Forest) and took a couple losses so I was definitely inspired to get a win in this one."
Guards Ayzhiana Basallo (13 points), Megan Anderson (12) and Danae Marquez (12) were the other Spartans in double figures.
Basallo clinched the Mountain West's scoring title in the victory, ending the regular season with 506 total points. The sophomore is the conference's only player to score over 500 points this season.
SJSU would lead for 21 minutes of Thursday's game while opening a lead as large as 20 points. The team shot at a 42.6 percent clip from the field, led by a second quarter in which it was 9-of-16.
That second quarter is where visitors from San José would start to turn things around.
Trailing 20-8 after the game's first 10 minutes, head coach Jamie Craighead's team exploded for 25 second quarter points. It also put together one of its best defensive quarters of the season in that second stanza, holding the Lady Rebels to just nine points.
It was Anderson who gave San José State plenty of energy and momentum heading into the locker rooms, burying an open three with just 10 seconds remaining in the half to put her team on top 33-29 at the break.
The third quarter brought more of the same as Anderson immediately buried a triple to put her team on top by seven. The three-ball jumpstarted a 13-1 for the visitors, pushing the advantage to 46-30 halfway through the third.
no one shoots until everyone touches the ball@tmarie1533 finishes it ?? pic.twitter.com/nK1v5FNTdy
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) February 28, 2020
At its largest, the Spartan lead grew to 68-48 with 6:14 remaining. That allowed the team to comfortably cruise the rest of the way, ultimately earning the 13-point win to seal the deal on the program's first regular-season sweep of UNLV in school history.
The win also marked conference victory No. 12 for San José State, the program's most in league play since the 2001-02 season (went 12-6 in the WAC).
26-3 RUN @fiemeahafoka ?? pic.twitter.com/tiBnMY9xw7
— San José State Women's Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) February 28, 2020
The team now sets its sights on the postseason, opening the Mountain West Tournament on Monday afternoon against a familiar opponent. Tip-off for San José State's quarterfinal matchup is set for 2:30 p.m. against the Lady Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
SJSU enters the event in the No. 4 spot, matching the program's best-ever seed for a conference tournament.
"We are trying to do something we've never been before," Whitehead said when asked about the upcoming tournament. "We want to do something that past teams here have dreamt of. That's our goal and we're confident we can do it."