LAS VEGAS – After advancing to the Mountain West Tournament semifinals for the second time in program history, the No. 4 seed San Jose State women's basketball team saw its run end with a 94-68 loss to No. 1 seed Fresno State on Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Spartans (19-12) had four players score in double figures, led by Tyra Whitehead's 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Danae Marquez added 14 points while Ayzhiana Basallo and Fieme'a Hafoka each had 12.
Whitehead scored six of the Spartans' first nine points as SJSU owned a 9-8 lead with 6:11 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs answered with a 10-0 run, including a three-pointer and a three-point play, to take an 18-9 lead with 2:52 on the clock. After a pair of Basallo free throws, the Bulldogs took off on another 10-0 run and owned a 28-11 lead at the end of the first. The Spartans were just 3-of-15 shooting in the opening frame while the Bulldogs were 10-of-18.
Fresno State pushed its lead to as much as 20 in the second quarter before the Spartans started to slowly chip away. An 8-2 run cut the deficit to 39-25 with 2:11 to go in the first half. The Bulldogs led, 45-28, at halftime as the Spartans were just 2-of-14 from deep. Whitehead had a team-high 11 points at the break.
The teams traded baskets for most of the third quarter. The Spartans cut the Fresno State lead to 16 early in the period but the Bulldogs took a 71-45 advantage into the fourth. The Spartans got hot from three-point range in the fourth quarter, making six straight shots from deep, but the deficit was too great as Fresno State prevailed.
The Spartans are now 4-7 all-time in the Mountain West Tournament and 0-2 all-time in the Mountain West semifinals.
