By Ernie Gonzalez — Executive Editor
Call it a coincidence, but just not to Tyra Whitehead.
Whitehead had 20-plus points and 20 rebounds in her first home game of the year 2020, becoming only the second player in San Jose State women’s basketball history to have a 20-20 game.
The programs’ 20-20 club might be small, but the egos of Whitehead and 2016 SJSU Sports Hall of Fame inductee Lora Alexander, are anything but.
“My message to her is congratulations,” Alexander said, who had a 27-point, 20 rebound game in 1989. “I don’t feel like my record has been broken because whoever has a [20-20 game] has to do it in regulation.”
Granted, on that Jan. 4 night, Whitehead took 22 points and 19 rebounds into overtime and came down with her 20th rebound a possession before laying out on the hardwood with an apparent ankle injury. She didn’t get to play in the final four minutes of the game.
“I respect it,” Tyra said with a smile. “I didn’t do it [in regulation]. If I were in her shoes I’d say the same thing.”
Tyra continued by saying she still has another year left to play and that anything can happen. That shows the competitive spirit between both Alexander and Whitehead.
Five days following her 20-20 game, Whitehead took to Twitter, something she takes pride in doing, and told the world her “ultimate athlete goal.”
30 points and 25 rebounds in a single game.
But Alexander just can’t wrap her head around those numbers.
“Based on the average scores of women’s basketball games, it’s unlikely,” Alexander said. “Teams are not averaging 80 to 100 points per game.”
The interesting thing is that the Spartans are hovering around the 80 points-per-game mark this season. They’ve scored an average of 77.7 points through 19 games, which ranks first in the Mountain West.
“Has she not seen [Ayzhiana Basallo] play?” Whitehead said with her hands in the air. “She be putting up 30.”
SJSU has shown that they can compete with any team in or out of the conference when it is firing on all cylinders.
That of course, is not just because of Basallo’s scoring abilities, but Whitehead’s too.
The forward is flirting with a double-double average this year.
The only other Spartan in history to accomplish that feat throughout an entire season?
You guessed it. Lora Alexander.
“I’ve been around a lot of competitors,” said assistant coach Carlotta Kloppenburg whose father has coached in the WNBA and grandfather has coached in the NBA. “[Whitehead] definitely ranks high.”
Kloppenburg, who has been around the team since 2018, also attributes competitiveness to how a player takes their losses.
“Tyra hates losing, but that’s how athletes are at this level,” Kloppenburg said. “It’s not even the love to win, but the hate for losing.”
It’s been 31 years since a Spartan put up a 20-20 game and in Alexander’s eyes, the way the game is played today has a lot to do with the drought.
“I don’t think players today are defensive minded,” Alexander said. “Most players care about offense and don’t play defense. It’s a lot easier to score 20 points than it is to grab 20 rebounds.”
The way Whitehead sees it, she’s out to prove everybody wrong. Doubters motivate her. She even called Alexander a doubter.
“If she’s going to sleep on me, I got to go get it now,” Whitehead said in response to Alexander calling a 30-25 game “unlikely.”
But all season, there have been doubters. SJSU received only one preseason coaches’ vote to win the Mountain West conference.
The Spartans are second in the league standings sitting at 7-1 behind Fresno State, the team’s only loss. SJSU is 13-6 overall and it’s fair to say Whitehead is a big reason why.
“You always have to have motivators,” Whitehead said. “The Mountain West picked us last and even The Spear slept on us. So why not wake y’all up? And we’re not done yet.”
Follow Ernie on Twitter @superego1012