LAS VEGAS - Fresh off one of the most successful regular seasons in school history, San José State will tip-off its postseason run on Monday afternoon against UNLV in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament.
Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. in Las Vegas and fans can view the game on the Mountain West Network. An audio stream will also be available on TuneIn.com or the TuneIn app as the broadcast begins 15 minutes prior to the contest with the Spartan Tip-Off Show.
STORYLINES
SJSU VS. THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Overall, San José State is 123-226 against the current make up of schools in the Mountain West. The Spartans last conference victory came on Thursday at UNLV.
Senior Fieme'a Hafoka led her team in the 76-63 victory at Cox Pavilion, tallying 16 points while grabbing six rebounds in her final collegiate regular season game. SJSU enters the Mountain West tournament having won three straight contests against conference opponents.
ABOUT THAT FOUR SEED
San José State enters the Mountain West Tournament in the bracket's No. 4 spot, matching the program's best-ever seed for a conference tournament. The Spartans were also the No. 4 seed in the 2016 Mountain West Tournament after earning the same slot in the 2002, 2003 and 2006 WAC Tournaments.
SEARCHING FOR SOME MARCH MADNESS
The Spartans are aiming to make their first postseason tournament in NCAA program history this year. The school's last trip to the postseason came prior to NCAA sponsorship as the 1980-81 Spartans faced USC in the first round of the AIAW Regionals.
BASALLO NAMED MID-MAJOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR SEMIFINALIST
Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo has been named as one of 10 semifinalists for the Her Hoop Stats Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award. The point guard is the youngest player on the list and the only representative from the Mountain West.
WHITE(HEAD) NOISE
Forward Tyra Whitehead ranks No. 10 in all of Division I and is second in the Mountain West with 297 rebounds. Her 13 double-doubles on the season slots her at second in the conference and 20th nationally in that category. Whitehead has made 174 field goals on the season and is 21 makes away from breaking into the program's top-10 list for made field goals in a season.
She is also one of the conference's premier defenders, ending league play as the Mountain West's only player inside the league's top-10 for both blocks and steals.
The Wake Forest transfer became just the second player in program history to join the 20/20 Club last month, tallying 22 points and 20 rebounds against first-place Fresno State. Whitehead was just the 13th player in all of Division I to accomplish the feat this season and is the first to do so at San José State since Lora Alexander (1989). It was an all-around strong month for the forward, who was named the Mountain West Player of the Week on Jan. 27 after recording back-to-back double-doubles in wins over New Mexico and Air Force.
GOOD LUCK WHEN ENDING IN VEGAS
Finishing the regular season in Las Vegas has proved lucky in the past for the Spartans under head coach Jamie Craighead. SJSU ended the 2014-15 regular season with a 99-97 victory at UNLV, then won back-to-back games in the Mountain West Tournament to advance to the semifinals. It marked just the second time in school history that the program advanced to the semifinals of a conference tournament.
MONDAY WAS FUN
There was no case of the Mondays last week for San José State as the team's 38-point victory over Utah State marked the program's largest conference victory since Jan. 11, 1980 (70-25 vs. Santa Clara). The 38 points allowed was the program's fewest in a game since Feb. 18, 2006 (58-35 vs. New Mexico State). The Spartans enter the week undefeated on Monday this season.
THREE'S COMPANY
Guard Megan Anderson's red-hot shooting from outside recently has moved the junior to No. 2 on the program's career three-pointers list. Anderson's 178 triples ranks second while fellow Fresno product Danae Marquez has moved into No. 10 with 115.
NCAA'S BIGGEST WIN TURNAROUNDS THIS SEASON
San José State currently owns the nation's largest single-season win turnaround this year:
Team Wins Increase
San José State 6 to 18 +12
Ball State 8 to 19 +11
Cleveland State 10 to 19 +9
UNC Greensboro 11 to 20 +9
Eastern Kentucky 2 to 10 +8
Longwood 3 to 10 +7
BEST WIN TURNAROUNDS IN SCHOOL HISTORY
This San José State teams also owns the biggest single-season win turnaround in program history:
Seasons Wins Increase
2018-19 to 2019-20* 6 to 18 +12
1999-00 to 2000-01 3 to 13 +10
2010-11 to 2011-12 2 to 11 +9
1992-93 to 1993-94 5 to 14 +9
1997-78 to 1978-79 17 to 24 +7
BEST MOUNTAIN WEST FINISHES FOR TEAMS SELECTED LAST IN PRESEASON POLL
The 2019-20 Spartans own the best-ever finish for a team picked last in the history of the Mountain West Preseason Poll. The following are the top-six jumps for teams selected last compared to their final standing:
Season Team Picked Finished
2019-20 San José State 11th 3rd
2011-12 Boise State 8th 6th
2007-08 Air Force 9th 7th
2005-06 Air Force 9th 7th
2017-18 Air Force 11th 8th
2018-19 San José State 11th 9th
A HISTORIC CAMPAIGN
This Spartan team is currently tied for third most wins in a season in program history:
Season Record
1978-79 24-4
1979-80 22-9
2019-20 18-11
2004-05 18-12
1982-83 17-9
1977-78 17-10
2001-02 17-11
CRAIGHEAD THIS SEASON
San José State's 17 victories this season is the most in the Craighead era in Silicon Valley. In addition, the 12 conference wins is a high for the Spartans under Craighead and the program's most since the 2001-02 season. The head coach picked up career victory No. 125 in Monday's historic 76-38 win over Utah State.
WINNING WAYS
The Spartans earned their 15th win against Boise State on Jan. 29, a victory that clinched the program's first winning regular season since the 2004-05 campaign (went 17-11 in regular season).
IRON-ME'A
Senior Fieme'a Hafoka has appeared in 119 games in her San José State career and needs just three more appearances to tie the program's all-time leaders at 122 (Ta'Rea Cunnigan (2012-15), Paris Baird (2014-17) and Jasmine Smith (2014-17).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
In addition to being one of three schools in the Mountain West with an all-female coaching staff, San José State also boasts the youngest staff in the conference:
Team Average Age (In Years)
San José State 29.2
Nevada 36.6
Fresno State 36.8
UNLV 36.8
Wyoming 37.4
New Mexico 37.5
San Diego State 39.2
Colorado State 39.6
Air Force 40.8
Boise State 41.6
Utah State 42.5
ON THE BENCH
In addition to being the youngest staff in the conference, 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.
BASALLO BREAKDOWN
Ayzhiana Basallo has been one of the top guards in the country this season, ranking 29th nationally in points per game (18.7) and No. 50 in assists with 129 total dimes. She is also one of the nation's top free throw shooters, slotted second in Division I with a 92.1% clip at the charity stripe. Her 139 makes at the charity stripe has her at No. 5 on the program's list for made fee throws in a single season (Ta'Rea Cunnigan is all-time leader at 178).
Basallo has scored in double figures in 24 of her 26 games against Division I opponents and has reached the 20-point plateau in 13 of those. In addition, the point guard won the Mountain West's regular-season scoring title and tops the conference in free throw percentage.
CARDIAC SPARTANS
The Spartans have been one of the conference's top teams in the clutch this season, winning nine games decided by one or two possessions. Four of those nine victories have come by three points or less.
TURNAROUND X2
Director of Women's Basketball Operations Carolyn Ruffino has now been on staff for the NCAA's two biggest win-turnarounds in the past three seasons. Ruffino was a student manager for the UC Santa Barbara men's basketball team in the middle of its 17-win turnaround from 2017 to 2018.
MAKING MAUI HISTORY
Senior Fieme'a Hafoka made a bit of history in December, 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, the location of the Maui Jim Maui Classic.
DIALING LONG DISTANCE
San José State finished its victory over Eastern Washington in November 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 in November, 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.
ACTUALLY, STEALING IS GOOD
San José State is ranked No. 12 nationally with 311 steals in 29 games. Forward Tyra Whitehead is slotted 39th in the country in that category with 65 thieveries. Guards Fieme'a Hafoka (51 steals) and Danae Marquez (39) are also stealing the ball at a high rate as the postseason tips off.
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). Finally, the 128 points is the second most scored by a Division I team this season (Coastal Carolina, 132).
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's 9-1 start to conference play marked 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.
A RELIABLE START
Forward Tyra Whitehead has scored the Spartans first points in seven of the team's last nine games. On the year, the junior has tallied SJSU's first points in 11 total contests.
THEY GROW UP SO FAST
One of the keys to San José State's turnaround in 2019-20 is some simple experience. The Spartans were the
youngest team in the nation two years ago and now have more wins this season than the last two combined.
500 CLUB
Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo became the first Mountain West player this season to reach the 500-point plateau on Thursday at UNLV, bringing her season total to 506 points in the process. Basallo is the first Spartan to join the 500 Club since Dezz Ramos achieved the feat in the 2016-17 season.
BLOCK PARTY
Forward Cydni Lewis tallied her 88th career block on Thursday at UNLV, moving the junior up to No. 5 on the program's career blocked shots list. Riana Bird (2013-16) is the all-time leader at 200.
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)
Her Hoop Stats Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year
Semifinalist (Feb. 4)
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)
Mountain West
Player of the Week (Jan. 27)
SPARTANS IN THE NEWS
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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.