Aikman Fang (@AikmanFang) – Spear Beat Reporter
Photo via Titus Wilkinson
San Jose State women’s basketball (5-24, 3-15 MW) never trailed for the second straight game in a 78-65 win over Utah State (4-26, 1-17 MW) on Tuesday night inside the Dee Glee Smith Specturum.
The Spartans were aggressive, out-rebounding the Aggies 44-32 and created 19 points off turnovers.
“I think that we established who we are, how hard we’re gonna play, and what our style is,” said head coach April Phillips.
Two SJSU women’s basketball players scored 20 points or more.
Freshman guard Sabrina Ma finished with a career-high 24 points and went 4-7 from beyond the arc. This is Ma’s third straight game with 20 points or more.
Sophomore forward Marisa Davis-Jones also provided 21 points and five rebounds.
The Spartans sprinted out the blocks with a 14-2 lead after senior guard Jada Holland made a layup with 5:37 left in the first quarter. Holland finished the game with eight points, three rebounds, and three steals. She finishes the regular season at the peak of the Mountain West in steals, with an average of 2.5 per game.
Ma steered SJSU to a 23-16 lead at the end of the first period with 13 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting and 3-3 from beyond the arc.
The Spartans carried their momentum by holding a 38-29 lead over the Aggies at halftime.
The Aggies struggled to get anything, shooting 32.3% from the field and while the Spartans shot 46.9% from the field.
Ma and Davis-Jones led the Spartans at the intermission with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Utah State bounced back in the third period by going on a 11-0 run to tie it 40-40, as junior guard Kinley Falslev-Wickizer made a 3-pointer with 5:52 left in the third period.
SJSU cooled off in the third, shooting 31.6% and held a 52-50 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Spartans then pulled ahead with a 19-5 run to start the fourth quarter, capped off with a second-chance layup from fifth-year senior guard Aarion Nichols to extend their lead to 71-57 with 4:02 left in the game. Nichols came close to a double-double, as she finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.
“March is a new month, it’s a new season so you go in there and you give everything you have and see what happens,” said Phillips.
SJSU women’s basketball will head to Las Vegas next where it will face Air Force in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Sunday at 4:30 p.m inside the Thomas & Mack Center.