By Alex Valle — Content Editor
San Jose State women’s basketball (15-6, 9-1 MW) took down the defending Mountain West champions Boise State (14-8, 6-4 MW) 74-61.
SJSU secured its first winning season in 15 years on Wednesday night against the Broncos, who have won the last three Mountain West Championships.
“We know their team is deadly from the perimeter,” said head coach Jaime Craighead. “We know that we can win the interior game. We did a great job not giving them open looks from the perimeter.”
Now that the Spartans are just under Fresno State for the top spot in the conference, there is no more doubt that this team is a contender.
Sophomore guard Ayzhiana Basallo led all scorers with 28 points while grabbing five boards and dishing out four assists.
This is nothing new for the Mountain West scoring leader who has dominated almost every guard this season offensively and defensively.
Down low, SJSU has been able to rely on junior forward Tyra Whitehead.
Just shy of tying her career-high in points, Whitehead was automatic shooting 10-of-16 for 21 points.
This duo has helped turn this program around, but Craighead reminded everyone that the rest of the team is equally important to this team’s success.
“This win was for them,” Craighead said. “[Basallo] and [Whitehead] are awesome and they complete us, but they aren’t the same if they don’t have those pieces around them.”
Sophomore guard Raziya Potter had a shaky performance on the offensive side, but she made up for it with multiple pivotal defensive stops.
Potter helped shut down the Broncos offensive, snatching two steals and blocking four shots.
“I singled her out because she didn’t shoot the ball well, but she was still a positive 13,” Craighead said. “Getting her to play her best basketball in February and March will be key to this team’s run.”
Junior guard Megan Anderson was responsible for all three of the Spartans’ perimeter shots, but she positioned her self well as she grabbed eight rebounds.
“Most teams are going to play me pretty tight on the three-point line, so I need to start contributing in other ways,” Anderson said. “Rebounding is huge for us and I have just been trying to implement that into my game.”
As the Spartans head into the last month of the season, they will try to keep their 6-game winning streak alive.
They will take on Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday, Feb. 1 at noon.
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