By: Javen Takhar (@javentakhar) – Spear Reporter | Sophomore guard Maya Anderson rises for a layup against Boise State (Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics)
The No. 12 San Jose State women’s basketball (4-28, 2-18 MW) fell 68-51 against No. 5 Boise State (24-8, 14-6 MW) on Saturday March 7, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV, ending its run at the conference championship and its season.
The Spartans kept it close, trailing by as little as two points, but ultimately never got a lead against the Broncos.
The Spartans struggled from beyond the arc, only making four 3-pointers on 24 attempts. The last time they were that poorly from three was against Fresno State on Jan. 7, where they went 4 for 26.
A tough shooting night made an uphill battle for the struggling Spartans even harder.
Junior guard Allie Cummins, who led the team in 3-pointers, went 1 for 6 from the distance.
“I thought we really battled, might’ve been one of our better defensive games all year. We just couldn’t get enough shots to go down,” SJSU head coach Jonas Chatterton said.
After a win against Utah State on Feb. 18, it was Boise State who started the five game losing streak for SJSU.
Broncos sophomore guard Libby Hutton and senior guard Natalie Pasco were on an electric start, going up 8-0 within the first three-minutes of the game.
Pasco would finish the game leading the team with 21 points, and Hutton followed close behind with 16.
But SJSU came storming back led by freshman forward Gabriela Pato, who’s averaging 4.3 points this season.
Pato dropped seven in the first-quarter to cut the Boise State lead to four, and prevented the game from getting out of hand early on. Pato finished with a season high 13 points.
Sophomore guard Maya Anderson capped off her strong season with 18 points and nine rebounds, both team highs.
The season started 0-8 for coach Chatterton in his first season with SJSU. He was handed a team with no one averaging double-digit points, let alone double-digit minutes.
Despite the bumpy road, the team rallied to make Boise State work for the win.
“Putting together a bunch of players who are trying to step into roles that they’re not ready for and weren’t used to, I thought as we went through the season, continued to battle, and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys everyday showing up,” Chatterson said.
