By: Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1)- Spear Reporter
Junior forward Marisa Davis-Jones advances the ball down the court | Photo By Titus Wilkinson- The Spear
SJSU women’s basketball brought their record back to .500 with a 81-65 win over Bellarmine. The difference maker on the night for the Spartans was junior forward Marisa Davis-Jones.
Davis-Jones scored a team-leading 17 points and was tied for a team leading six rebounds.
Head coach April Phillips loved the aggressiveness Davis-Jones showcased on the night.
“She was extremely aggressive getting to rim, (she) got to the free-throw line nine times,” Phillips said. “That’s really good ball played from Marisa.”
Spartan fans did get a bit of a scare, albeit very brief, when Davis-Jones went down after a collision and appeared to be injured.
“(It was) just a little scuffle,” Davis-Jones said. “The girl stepped on me, but I was more startled at the fact it all happened so fast. I’m OK.”
After getting checked on she returned to play in the fourth quarter and helped seal the win over Bellarmine.
At the end of the first quarter SJSU women’s basketball only had a one point lead with the score sitting at 17-16. But a big second quarter that featured a 12-0 scoring run allowed the Spartans to control the game.
The Spartans wound up outscoring Bellarmine 19-8 in the second quarter.
“We didn’t make any adjustments (from the first quarter) honestly,” Phillips said. “Our girls just dug their heels in and really got down, defended, communicated and did the things that make us, us.”
Another reason why SJSU women’s basketball came out on top was because of their aggressiveness in the paint. The Spartans scored 44 points in the paint compared to Bellarmine’s 14.
Senior center Finau Tonga contributed to the physical presence SJSU carried this game with eight points and five rebounds.
Sophomore guard Sabrina Ma’s biggest takeaway from the game was for the team to not get too relaxed and lose grip on the lead.
“We should have won by more,” Ma said. “I think down the road there is going to be a lot of games like (this one) so we just have to stay composed.”
The next game for SJSU women’s basketball will be against Cal Poly at the Provident Union Event Center on November 11th at noon.
