Aikman Fang (@AikmanFang) – Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter
San Jose State women’s basketball (1-4, 0-0 MW) fell to UTEP (5-0, 0-0 C-USA) 67-54 at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. on Friday afternoon.
SJSU took control early, starting the game on an 11-0 run. Senior guard Jada Holland led the Spartans to a 15-9 lead over the Miners with eight points in the first quarter.
The Miners did not have a lead until it was 24-23 with 3:09 left in the second quarter. The Spartans bounced back with a 6-0 run capped off by a second-chance layup from sophomore forward Marisa Davis-Jones.
SJSU women’s basketball held a 29-26 lead over UTEP at halftime. Davis-Jones led the Spartans with six rebounds while Holland led all scorers with 10 points.
UTEP held a 42-39 lead with four minutes left to play in the third quarter. The Spartans then rallied back with a 10-0 run and ended the quarter with a 49-46 lead over the Miners.
SJSU had five steals and created eight points off turnovers alone in the third quarter.
The Spartans began the fourth by trading buckets back-and-forth with the Miners.
UTEP then went on a 16-0 run and made five of their last six field goal attempts. UTEP finished the game off after the Spartans missed their last 12 shots of the game.
Holland finished with a game-high 20 points and tied sophomore guard Sidney Richards with a team-high three steals.
Davis-Jones finished the game with her first double-double of the season, 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We just didn’t compete that fourth quarter,” said head coach April Phillips.
SJSU women’s basketball looks to bounce back on the road against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at the Mott Athletics Center on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled at 2:30 p.m.