By Andrew Hartley(@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Sydni Summers controlling the offense as SJSU plays against Boise State on January 17, 2024. I Photo by Christian Vieyra – The Spear
San Jose State trailed for more than 38 minutes Wednesday night against Boise State but it’s deceptive. It certainly wasn’t in a position to win after a first quarter that saw them down 22-6. But a second half effort led by its defense livened the game up.
While the Spartans ultimately dropped the game 68-64 to the Broncos, SJSU head coach April Phillips was “pleased.”
Coming into the week Phillips said, “we haven’t played as hard as we desired [in its previous two games].”
”If you’ve been to some games, I think you would see we did play harder tonight,” said Phillips.
They were fueled by a third quarter that they outscored 24-10 and forced eight turnovers. That generated nine points off turnovers and created open looks, shooting 47% from three in the third.
There was a freshman guard that led the Spartans in scoring tonight. No, it wasn’t reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week Jyah LoVett.
Sydni Summers not only started but propelled the offense by leading with a career high 14 points.
“They (Boise State) were sagging off a lot and I just remember coach(Phillips) telling me to shoot if they were sagging off,” said Summers.
Coach Phillips agreed that having nights from Summers allows LoVett to play off the ball and make the offense ‘electric’.
The Spartans were the latest team to find out the first quarter dominance the Broncos possesses. After scoring a season-high 27 points in their previous game, they scored 22 points in the first Wednesday night.
This was amplified by Amhyia Moreland picking up two fouls in the first three minutes of the game forcing a rotation of forwards in her place. A combination of Semaj Smith and late-semester addition Mia Grizelj.
A much needed addition to a team that’s dealt with injuries for the majority of the season. And there’s still optimism transfer Finau Tonga will return this season adding even more depth.
”It feels good to look down after somebody is in foul trouble and actually have someone to put in the game,” said Phillips.
Now that SJSU is getting healthier, it’ll be about finding that consistency they had in the second half and leading with it. The Spartans didn’t make a single three-pointer in the first quarter and then were propelled forward after shots fell.
“You can’t just bank on us not making shots the whole game,” said Summers.
The Spartans next opportunity for their second conference win will be at San Diego State on Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. They are now facing a three-game losing streak they’ll hope to break Saturday.