By Derrick Ow — Reporter
It is safe to say the San Jose State women’s basketball team is out of its February slump.
The Spartans steamrolled Utah State (7-21, 2-15 MW) with a 76-38 win at the Event Center.
Sophomore guard Ayzhaina Basallo led the way for the Spartans, (17-11, 11-6, MW) with 18 points and 5 assists. Sophomore guard Raziya Potter came off the bench and scored 16 points with 5 rebounds.
Junior guard Megan Anderson was the third Spartan to score in double figures with 11 points.
The night belonged to the two seniors on head coach Jaime Craighead’s squad.
Seniors Fieme’a Hafoka and Alexis Harris led the Spartans to their largest conference victory since the 1979-80 season.
Hafoka was all over Walt McPherson Court as she had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Harris had 6 points, and was a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the field.
“It is bittersweet considering we did not win a lot of games these first three years,” Hafoka said. “To end the way it ended with a really big win made everything come together.”
Harris thought about her former teammates that came before, which made the win extra special.
“We came in here when Dezz Ramos and Jasmine Smith were seniors,” Harris said. “We looked up to them and tried to fill their shoes the best we could.”
The Spartans limited the Aggies to 22.6 percent shooting. The Aggies did lead by nine points at the end of the first quarter. However, SJSU was on cruise control for the rest of the night as they went on a 28-6 run to end the first half.
“We were not aggressive in the first quarter but the reason why we have won more games this season is because of our defense,” Craighead said.
The win is Craighead’s 125th of her coaching career. For the team, the 17th win sets a record for SJSU in the Craighead era.
The Spartans will be in Las Vegas earlier than expected. Although the Mountain West Tournament does not start until next week, they will look to stop Rodjanae Wade and the UNLV Rebels in Las Vegas.
Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on Thursday night.
Follow Derrick on Twitter @derrickq42