By Andrew Hartley(@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Sabrina Ma following through on a three-pointer, tying the SJSU record by scoring seven Monday night. | Photo by Titus Wilkinson – The Spear.
Domination for 40 minutes.
No other way to put it.
SJSU women’s basketball (4-4) broke its program record for largest winning margin Monday night, beating Bethesda University (0-9) 122-28. A 94-point margin of victory.
In fact, records were broken almost everywhere on the Spartan scoresheet.
Five different players managed a career-high in points. This included Sabrina Ma, who scored 31 points and tied the record for most three-pointers made in a game with seven.
“You’re watching her play basketball,” yelled Bethesda head coach Demetris Harris as Ma coasted to another open three.
Domination offensively.
Another one of the players who amassed a career-high was Sophia Jones. This was Jones first game back after suffering a torn left ACL and meniscus a year ago. The crowd roared as she took the court and went on to drop eight points in her return.
Defensively, SJSU allowed the second-fewest points in a game in program history. Bethesda scored made just 11 baskets, six of which came from Alex Buckley. Buckley also took many ill-advised threes and finished shooting 6-31 from the field.
“We worked on staying disciplined no matter what that scoreboard says,” said SJSU head coach April Phillips.
When they weren’t contesting the shots, they were hounding the ball handlers. Freshman guards Sydni Summers and Jyah Lovett combined for 11 of the team’s 23 steals.
Domination defensively.
“It’s really good to see players get some high numbers, that’s always a fun experience,” said Phillips.
They dominated the paint with Amhyia Moreland contributing four blocks and 26 points. They doubled the amount of rebounds the Lady Flames had (60-30) beating them in every statistical category.
And once more, domination on the glass.
Coming into the night, Spartans had dropped both games in the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational. One could say they’ve recovered from those losses.
The previous largest margin of victory was set in 2019 when SJSU beat La Verne 128-62 by 66 points. 94 is quite the upgrade.
In the second year of the Phillips’ reign, these are the wins that can fuel a run. At bare minimum, certainly a night to remember.
SJSU women’s basketball will see if its success can be replicated when the Spartans travel to Fullerton to play CSU Fullerton, Wednesday night at 7 p.m.