The San José State women’s basketball team was defeated by Boise State University 71-48 in a contest that got out of hand early, with the Spartans struggling to shoot consistently.
With this loss, the Spartans fall to 4-24 overall and 2-15 in Mountain West Conference (MWC) play, while the Broncos improve to 22–6 overall and 13-4 in MWC play.
Boise State dominated the first quarter, building a 23-6 lead heading into the second quarter by shooting 63% from 3-point range.
Jonas Chatterton, SJSU head coach, said his team wasn’t physical enough from tip off.
“From the jump we didn’t match their intensity,” Chatterton said. “We’ve got to get adapted to the game much earlier than what we did tonight.”
The Spartans shot a below-average 15% in the first quarter, putting them in a large deficit and forcing them to try to come back for the rest of the game.
SJSU sophomore Maya Anderson kept the Spartans competitive, posting 12 points and finding success at the free-throw line with eight made free throws in the second quarter.
The Spartans rallied to stay with the Broncos in the second quarter, scoring 17 points and heading into the locker room at the half with momentum.
“[The feeling] was pretty positive,” Anderson said. “Our mindset was to be aggressive and keep attacking them.”
Anderson finished the game with 20 points, leading the Spartans in scoring while shooting for 100% from behind the free-throw line.
“I think the refs were definitely calling [fouls] when we were in the post and being aggressive,” Anderson said. “My mindset was just to get to the free-throw line as much as possible.”
Anderson is averaging 13.8 points with 34% accuracy on the season, which is the highest points-per-game average on the women’s basketball squad this season.
SJSU junior guard Allie Cummins was also a bright spot as she led the team from beyond the arc by shooting 57% from 3-point range, scoring a total of 14 points.
SJSU finished the game shooting 24% on the court, highlighting a struggle throughout the game.
The team shot 34% from 3-point range, with Cummins and junior forward Amelie Sitterud – who shot 50% – leading the Spartans in three-point scoring.
The team’s defensive game plan was to limit Boise’s Tatum Thompson by forcing her to shoot from the three-point line and preventing her from getting to her midrange shot.
“She’s a matchup nightmare for us,” Chatterton said. “The two 3s are on me. I was going to give her those because she hasn’t shot that well from 3, but she made them. She’s a good player.”
Thompson shot 71% from the field and went 3-for-4 from 3-point range. She is averaging 14.7 points this season while shooting 47% – the highest average for Boise State – which is ranked second in the Mountain West.
With three games remaining, the Spartans travel to face the University of Nevada, Reno on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lawlor Events Center.
