By Nikita Bankar – Spear Reporter | Junior guard Amira Brown (photo by Nick Orozco Co-Executive Editor of The Spear)
With a strong defensive performance and a bench taking the reins and scoring more than half of its points, SJSU women’s basketball (4-2, 0-0 MW) took a 62-44 win against CSUN (2-3, 0-0 Big West) on Sunday afternoon at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
Sophomore guard Rylei Waugh opened the first quarter with a three pointer, with the only tie of the game being 13-13 at 3:12.
Senior forward-center Hennie Van Schaik dominated the game with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists with 5-of-14 shooting from the field while going 2-for-5 from behind the arc.
Van Schaik is the first Spartan to put together a double-double performance this season.
“It’s kind of expected for me to be honest, especially the threes,” Van Schaik said. “Then it’s just stepping up when the team needs to. Overall, I think it was just a great team job.”
Sophomore guard Sydni Summers scored nine points with one assist and three rebounds while going 3-for-10 from behind the arc.
Summers currently leads the team with 16 three-pointers this season.
“These past few weeks we have been emphasizing defense in practice,” Summers said. “Coach has really been emphasizing straight line drives.”
Despite an injury taking senior guard Amiah Simmons out of the game in the second quarter, the Spartans continued to push forward and maintain their lead.
The Spartans had 56 rebounds in this game, a season high for the team. Senior forward Djessira Diawara brought down 14 rebounds during the game.
The bench continues to be a strength for the team, bringing 33 points in Sunday’s game.
“We have a lot of depth this year, and so at any given point, anyone can step into the game and produce,” SJSU head coach April Phillips said. “More than anything, this team was very personnel driven, and our players did a really good job of knowing what it is each player desires to get to.” The Spartans will travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for Thanksgiving to play in the Puerto Rico Clásico tournament, with two games against UNC Wilmington on Thursday at 1 p.m. and UMass-Lowell on Saturday at 1 p.m. (PT).
