By Jose Trujillo – Editor
There is really no other way to put it.
For the San Jose State women’s basketball team, 2017 was a rebuild year. The second youngest team in Division I experienced plenty growing pains en route to a 7-23 record and a last place finish in the Mountain West.
It was the first time sixth-year head coach Jamie Craighead failed to reach double-digit wins at the Spartans’ helm.
If she plans to change that in 2018, she will first need to find a way to replace 30 points a night.
The transfer of point guard Taylor Turney to CSU Northridge, and the graduation of Myzhanique Ladd and Hallie Gennett left a huge scoring void for the Spartans.
Craighead must find her leader on the offensive end. Who does she want to be taking the game-winning shot? Who will she count on to consistently give her 12-15 points every game?
These are some questions she will have to answer early in the season. Some names to look for?
- Junior forward Fieme’a Hafoka: The Maui native averaged 6.1 points per game and her 220 shot attempts were third on the team last season. With Turney and Ladd gone, Hafoka will have even more opportunities to improve her offensive numbers.
- Sophomore Cydni Lewis: As a freshman, Lewis put up 6.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Look for her to be the Spartans best scorer down low.
- Sophomore Megan Anderson: Arguably the Spartans best three-point shooter, Anderson drained 43 percent of her threes and set the record for most three pointers in a season by a freshman. Her role and minutes should greatly increase this season.
- Senior Andrea Kohlhass: In her fourth season, the Germany native is still looking to make her mark as a Spartan. Injury and depth have limited her minutes but she is finally healthy and should provide SJSU with solid three-point shooting, defense and rebounding.
San Jose State will also have to improve its rebounding and limit turnovers. The team turned the ball over 502 times in 30 games, which is an average of 16.2 per game.
To do this, they will have to create easier shots and improve its communication on the court. Craighead stated to SJSU Athletics that she plans simplify the offense and will focus on a “back to basics” approach.
The Spartans must also figure out a way to grab more rebounds. The team’s -9.4 rebounding margin was last in the conference and 339th in the the nation. SJSU will simply need to crash the boards much better this season.
One reason why rebounding, especially on the defensive end, is so important is because of second chance points. The Spartans gave up over 80 points per game and second chance points were a big reason why. It’s hard to stop a team when they get multiple chances to make a bucket.
An area of strength that should continue for SJSU is defending the three. It held opponents to 31 percent shooting.
Where the defense broke down was inside. The Spartans allowed opponents to hit over 45 percent of their attempts.
When teams played SJSU, they understood that attacking them inside was their best bet.
Craighead will have to get her team to contest much better and limit easy shots. They must make opposing players work harder to get the shot they want.
This will all start with discipline and improved communication on the defensive end.
The Spartans success this season will rely on finding their offensive leaders and improved defense. This team can shoot, no doubt. but for the 2018 San Jose State women’s basketball team, it will come down to defense, defense and more defense.
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