Aikman Fang (@AikmanFang) – Spear Beat Reporter
Photo by Titus Wilkinson – The Spear
San Jose State women’s basketball (3-24, 1-15 MW) came up short to Boise State (16-14, 11-6 MW) in a 78-70 loss inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Thursday night.
The Broncos’ largest lead of the night was 69-46 with 6:32 left in the fourth quarter, but the Spartans’ rallied back with a 23-10 run and held the Broncos without a field goal for the rest of the game.
“That to me is us building our culture and being the team that we know we’re capable of,” said head coach April Phillips.
Boise State did dominate the glass, outrebounding SJSU 42-25, and scored 19 total second-chance points.
Three SJSU women’s basketball players finished the game with double-digits in scoring.
Freshman guard Sabrina Ma provided a game-high 21 points off an efficient 6-10 shooting and went 3-7 from beyond the arc.
Sophomore forward Marisa Davis-Jones recorded 14 points and four rebounds.
Senior guard Jada Holland also finished with 14 points, two assists, and two steals.
Boise State opened the game by making six of its first eight shots and led 16-8 after freshman guard Dani Bayes netted a 3-pointer with 3:19 left in the first quarter. Bayes scored nine of her career-high 19 points in the first quarter the last game against SJSU
Ma helped the Spartans cut the deficit to 19-15 with her seven points in the opening period.
Boise State extended its lead to 41-32 at halftime as it outrebounded SJSU 17-10 in the first half.
Ma led all scorers at the intermission with 11 points off 3-5 shooting from the field and went 4-5 from the free throw line.
The Broncos continued their dominance on the glass in the third quarter, as they scored seven second-chance points and led 61-44 at the end of the period.
SJSU then outscored Boise State 26-17 in the fourth quarter and was able to cut their deficit to 75-69 after a pair of free throws from Holland in the final minute before ultimately falling short. Ma, Davis-Jones, and Holland combined for 23 of the Spartans’ 26 points in the final period.
“It is not easy to have the record that we have and to continue to fight. . . I’m just really proud of them for their willingness to stick with the process,” said Phillips.
SJSU women’s basketball will have one more opportunity to fight at home this season with Fresno State next on Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
