By Joe Roias — Staff Writer
SJSU junior Danae Marquez celebrated her birthday on Friday as she shot the lights-out in an 84-66 victory against Eastern Washington.
Marquez led the team with 20 points, three assists and one steal while shooting 6-7 from the three-point line.
“This sixth man role was a challenge in the beginning, but I put the team above myself and I’m going to fight for and with my team and contribute any way I can,” said Marquez.
As a team, the Spartans went 14-23 from three-point territory while holding the Eastern Washington Eagles to 10-33 from three.
A strong SJSU defensive effort that forced 18 turnovers and held the Eagles to 37% from the field contributed mightily to the victory.
The Spartans did a good job contesting every shot without fouling and having great on-ball pressure. The defensive intensity forced Eastern Washington to settle for tough three-point attempts.
The defensive intensity led to easy transition buckets on the other end.
Four Spartans finished the game with double-digit scoring and the team was efficient from the free-throw line. SJSU completed the game by going 14-15 from the line while Eastern Washington only managed four free throws on six attempts.
The Spartans began to pull away and outscored the Eagles 25-16 in the third quarter. SJSU had its most efficient quarter by going 8-12 from the field and 5-7 from three-point territory.
Eastern Washington was down by 21 going into the fourth quarter, and although they cut the deficit down to 13, the hot-shooting of SJSU was too much for the Eagles to overcome.
The lone bright spot for the Eagles was Jessica McDowell-White, and she finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
SJSU will look to keep the momentum going when they take on Santa Clara on Tuesday at 3:30 pm.
Follow Joe on Twitter @joe_roias
