Spartans face biggest test of season against unbeaten UC Irvine

By Austin Turner — Staff Writer

In its biggest test of the season so far, San Jose State’s women’s basketball (1-4) will host the undefeated UC Irvine Anteaters on Sunday afternoon.

It has been a tough start for the Spartans. They’re coming off of a blowout loss to the Pacific Tigers on Thursday, which they shot just 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from three.

They’ll need some big performances against the Anteaters, and luckily for the Spartans, they’re sure to get one from junior Fieme’a Hafoka.

The guard has been playing the best ball of her college career in the last couple of games. She set a career-high in points two games in a row: 14 in a win over CSU Bakersfield and 17 against Pacific.

If she can follow those performances up with another big game, the Spartans will have a shot at the upset.

SJSU has made only 31 percent of its 3-point attempts on the season, but it’ll need to shoot from deep at a better clip to keep up with the menacing Anteater offense.

UC Irvine averages 80.5 points per game, led by sophomore forward and Big West Player of the Week Jordan Sanders.

She has had an outstanding season, as she leads the team in scoring at 20 points per game on 52 percent shooting. She also leads UCI with 7.8 rebounds per contest and seven blocks on the year.

Sanders will be the player that the Spartans will have to look out for, as she could easily take over the game as she’s done several times already.

It’ll be a big chance for the Spartans to turn their season around.

The game starts at 2 p.m. in the Event Center.

 

Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurnt

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