By Alex Valle — Content Editor
New year, same team.
In the first game of 2020, San Jose State women’s basketball (9-5, 3-0 MW) edged the University of New Mexico (9-7, 0-3 MW) 81-80.
The Spartans remained undefeated in conference play and picked up their third Mountain West victory of the season. Here are some things we took away from Wednesday night’s matchup:
Ayzhiana Basallo is back!
The sophomore guard returned to action after suffering an ankle injury against La Verne on Dec. 14. Basallo has been the leader of her squad, posting 21.1 ppg and did not disappoint in her first game back. The Mountain West leader in scoring contributed 19 points, five assists and three boards.
SJSU struggled to score the ball without Basallo in the two losses at the Maui Classic. Now that the Spartans have their leader back on the court, they’re back to being a dominant offense.
Balanced Scoring
SJSU had five players score in double-digits and were led by junior guard Megan Anderson who had 20 points as she drained six threes.
The luxury of having players that can put the ball in the hoop at anytime has made SJSU the offensive juggernaut of the Mountain West. Senior guard Fieme’a Hafoka added 13 points, while junior guard Danae Marquez and sophomore guard Raziya Potter totaled 26 points off the bench.
Halftime Adjustments
At the end of the first half, SJSU was down by 10 and the offense couldn’t get into a rhythm. Once the Spartans came out of the locker room, they looked like a different team. SJSU scored 35 points shooting 62.2 percent in contrast to the Lobos’ 19 the third quarter.
The second-half explosion was enough for the Spartans to hold on to beat the University of New Mexico despite trading baskets in the last minute of the game.
Next Game — The Spartans will try to remain undefeated in conference play as they face Fresno State on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
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