By Andrew Hartley(@andrwhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Freshman guard Jyah Lovett (left) sprinting up the court to navigate the CSU Monterey Bay defense Wednesday night at the Event Center. Photo courtesy Titus Wilkinson.
SJSU trailed for much of the first half until a second quarter flurry woke it up. A 20-10 second quarter went a long way as it beat CSU Monterey Bay 75-56 in an exhibition match Wednesday at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
With five players departing this spring, four new players contributed to the 11-player rotation SJSU head coach April Phillips rolled out. But one thing coach Phillips will get to work on immediately next practice is ball security. Eight Spartans committed turnovers with six players amassing two or more.
“We need to work on taking care of the ball and not letting teams take us out of our own rhythm,” said sophomore guard Sabrina Ma, who finished with three turnovers of her own.
The full-court press greatly troubled them, especially in the first half where they had 15 turnovers and a ten-second violation.
Three of the four guards SJSU rolled out were underclassmen including true freshmen Jyah Lovett and Sydni Summers.
“It takes some time when you have freshman point guards in the backcourt. It’s scary, scary,” said coach Phillips.
Once the ball did pass halfcourt, the Spartans hammered the ball in the paint relentlessly, taking advantage of their size. 44 of their 75 points came from points in the paint combined with 20 more from drawing contact and converting free throws.
Where did many of those entry passes come from?
The aforementioned Ma, who finished with a team-leading six assists, also led the team in scoring with 18 points.
“I just let the game come to me, I know my role and I know what I have to do to help the team be successful,” said Ma.
With the departure of leading scorer Jada Holland this past spring, the sophomore will be looked to carry the offensive load and facilitate at a high level. Ma went a perfect six-for-six inside the arc, contributing 12 points in the paint herself.
“Sabrina and Maya were highlights for me,” said coach Phillips.
Despite scoring just five points, freshman Maya Anderson played for 27 minutes off the bench with the second highest +/- on the team of +15. Anderson appears to be an excellent defensive weapon for coach Phillips and will earn her minutes with hustle plays.
“We got the win but there’s a lot of things we need to improve on and I think that just is gonna come with practice, games and just playing with each other,” said Ma.
While it wasn’t the dominant victory SJSU displayed in last year’s exhibition against CSU Monterey Bay, a 19-point win is a 19-point win.
The Spartans will have their first opportunity to cut down on their turnovers in their season opener on Monday, Nov. 6 against Santa Clara at the Provident Credit Union Event Center at 7 p.m. This will be the first of three straight home games for them to start the season.