By Vincent Rupena – Spear Reporter
Spartans freshman Maya Anderson on the bench during a break. | Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
The San Jose State women’s basketball team (6-21, 1-14 MW) endured a loss against Air Force (13-16, 6-10 MW) 67-53 on Saturday.
This marks 13 straight losses as the Spartans’ season continues to spiral downward.
They came into the game at the bottom of the Mountain West standings. The Spartans have not won a game since Jan. 6 when they beat Utah State.
SJSU was at a disadvantage before the game even started having just eight healthy players available for the game.
After a close-fought first half, Air Force managed to obtain the lead and never looked back.
Air Force’s biggest contributor was junior Madison Smith. She scored a total of 27 points in the game and did most of her work in the fourth quarter going 5-6 from the field.
Defensively, Air Force was making SJSU’s offense uncomfortable. The adjustments that Air Force made during the game hindered its offense.
Spartans junior Amhyia Moreland, who led the team in scoring with 15, was only able to score three points after the first quarter.
SJSU as a team shot 14% from 3-point range, only making one the entire game.
The Spartans turned the ball over 29 times, which was 13 more than Air Force. It was a one-point game with two minutes left in the 2nd quarter when the Falcons were able to go on a 10-0 run, all points off of turnovers.
After what had been a close game, Air Force went into halftime with an 11-point lead and all the momentum.
If San Jose State wants to start winning games, it will need more players to step it up on offense.
Despite the loss, SJSU head coach April Phillips continues to remain positive about her team.
“These ladies are just super resilient,” Phillips said. I’m super proud of how they’re continuing to show up.”
The Spartans will try to find a way to turn this season around against Wyoming on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
