Aikman Fang (@AikmanFang) – Spear Beat Reporter
Photo via Titus Wilkinson – The Spear
SJSU women’s basketball (6-24, 3-15 MW) pulled off a 62-51 upset over No. 7 seed Air Force (13-18, 8-10 MW) on Sunday night behind senior guard Jada Holland’s career-high 24 points to open the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
The Spartans made history with this upset win by becoming the first No. 10 seed to win a game in Mountain West women’s basketball tournament. They are now on a three-game winning streak.
Four SJSU women’s basketball players finished with nine points or more.
Fifth-year guard Aarion Nichols recorded a double-double, with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman guard Sabrina Ma provided nine points and shot 3-7 from beyond the arc.
Sophomore forward Marissa Davis-Jones also added nine points and eight rebounds.
The Spartans opened the game with a 12-2 lead over the Falcons after Ma made a 3-pointer with 6:27 left in the first quarter.
Holland led SJSU to a 17-7 with six points at the end of the first period.
The Spartans ended the second quarter on a 7-1 run and led 26-14, as Davis-Jones made a layup with seven seconds left in the period.
Holland had a game-high 10 points on an efficient 4-5 shooting at the intermission.
Air Force struggled in the first half as it shot 20.8% from the field and committed nine turnovers.
The Falcons bounced back by cutting their deficit to four and trailed 37-33 after freshman center Faith Shelton made a 3-pointer with 1:56 left in the third quarter.
SJSU then ended the third quarter with a 6-0 run and led 43-33.
Holland guided the Spartans to the win as she dropped 12 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Air Force did pull within four points and trailed 50-46 with 4:18 left in the game. However, the Spartans ended the game on a 12-3 run that included this deep 3-pointer that Holland banked in the final minute
“It’s heart and belief, we talked about March being about heart and execution … they showed both those things tonight,” said head coach April Phillips.
SJSU women’s basketball will advance to the second round and will face No. 2 seed Wyoming in the quarterfinals on Monday night. Tipoff is scheduled at 5 p.m.