By Richy Zajic — Staff Writer
San Jose State women’s basketball (6-23, 5-13 MW) picked up a Mountain West victory against rival Fresno State behind a 3-point barrage Thursday night, 65-57.
Senior forward Andrea Kohlhaas was the story of the night as she played her last regular-season game of her collegiate career.
“It was crazy and an pretty amazing feeling,” Kohlhaas said as she reflected on her senior night. “My family came out from Germany, my uncle and my friends that have been there throughout the four years. It was pretty great.”
The Spartans shot 44 percent from beyond the arc, making 11 total 3-pointers equating to 33 of their total 65 points.
Sophomore guards Danae Marquez and Megan Anderson were a 3-point shooting dynamic duo in this matchup.
Marquez finished the game with 21 points, which tied her season-high. She shot 80 percent from deep, cashing in 12 of her 21 from distance.
“As a point guard, I feel like you have to know the tempo of the game,” she said. “My teammates were hitting shots and then they left me open so I was able to hit a shot, so just gotta go with the tempo of the game.”
Anderson was lights out as well in this game. The sophomore made 6 3’s on the night, shooting an extremely efficient 60 percent from that range.
The Bulldogs (18-11, 11-7 MW) started off on a quick 10-2 run with 7:13 left in the first period, but the Spartans battled back to erase the deficit.
SJSU then ripped off a run of its own, this time 13-0 and closed the quarter out with a five-point advantage.
It would never look back after taking the lead. This run turned into a huge 20-0 swing for the Spartans.
After the half, SJSU took care of the ball more efficiently and knocked down timely 3’s but FSU kept it close.
The Spartans lead for over 32 minutes in this matchup, and they executed down the stretch to make sure they secured the victory.
“I’m really proud of my kids. We wanted to finish this season the way we want to start next season,” said head coach Jamie Craighead. “We also wanted Andrea to win her last game at the Event Center.”
Clutch stops and timely rebounds allowed SJSU to never relinquish the lead and took down FSU, the fourth seed in the MW.
“That might be some of the best defense we’ve played, which is great heading into the conference tournament,” Craighead said. “If we can play like that on a neutral-sight court, anything can happen in Las Vegas.”
The Spartans will be the ninth seed in the MW tournament and will take on the eighth-seeded Nevada Sunday at 2 p.m. at Thomas & Mack Center.
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