By Niles Hall (@n23hall) – Spear Reporter | San Jose State Women’s basketball players walk on the court after a timeout. (Photo by Alexis Corona-Aguilar)
The San Jose State’s women’s basketball team season ended in despair after a hard-fought 62-67 loss to Fresno State in the Mountain West women’s basketball tournament.
The Bulldogs’s shooting wasn’t great down the stretch but they were able to capitalize by getting to the free throw line, where they had a significant advantage, making 24 free throws compared to just eight for SJSU.
“The stat that stands out to me that really hurts was (free throws),” SJSU head coach April Phillips said. “It’s hard to give up 24 points on the free-throw line.”
The game started strong for the Spartans on Sunday night. Stringing good defensive possessions together.
Although their shooting percentage wasn’t ideal, the Spartans gained momentum after being down nine in the fourth, going on an 11-0 run and giving them a short-lasting two-point lead.
The Spartans ramped up the defensive intensity in the second quarter, forcing six Bulldog turnovers and holding them to nine points.
SJSU held the Bulldog’s leading scorer, guard Mia Jacobs, to an inefficient fourteen points, nine of which were from the line.
The Spartans couldn’t capitalize on Fresno State’s poor shooting in the first half due to their own shooting struggles. Shooting a below-average 35% from the field.
Despite the rough shooting half, SJSU came away with a 29-25 lead.
Both offensive struggles continued into the third quarter.
The Bulldogs made 17 free throws down the stretch of the second half. This began to settle the offense down.
The Spartan’s dominant first-half defense became undisciplined.
Fresno State controlled the game for most of the fourth quarter. The Spartans made a late run, which gave them the lead, but the Bulldogs continued to make timely buckets and executed at the line.
“I’m proud of our seniors,” Phillips said. “I know that the returners feel a little bit of desire to come back and really step up to the plate and do it all over again in an even better and more disciplined fashion.”
