The San José State women’s basketball team hosted the Cal Poly Mustangs at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Saturday and grinded out a 61-56 win.
“We focused on (turnovers) this week,” SJSU head coach April Phillips said. “We talked about just simply focusing. We’re young and I’m sure we’re not done with the turnover war.”
The Spartans welcomed a familiar face in junior guard Sidney Richards, who transferred from SJSU to Cal Poly over the summer. SJSU’s defense held Richards to 2 of 5 shooting with 6 points.
Senior forward/center Amhyia Moreland led the way for the Spartans in multiple categories with a career-high 15 points.
Despite struggling percentage-wise, shooting at just 27% from the field and 20% from beyond the three-point line, the Spartans managed to scrape up a 11-11 tie after the first quarter.
“We played three games in six days, and that’s a really challenging start,” Phillips said. “I’m proud of our young ladies for digging in and getting the win. It took everything tonight. It’s mental toughness.”
After multiple defensive stops by the Spartans defense, sophomore guard Sabrina Ma nailed a 3-pointer to put them up 21-15 with 2:45 in the second quarter.
“(Ma) has to be more consistent,” Phillips said.
“There are times when shooters get in slumps and it would be safe to say (Ma) has been in some and she was in a slump and came out of that slump tonight.” Phillips said. “Once she becomes the student that she is and gets out of that slump, the game really opens up for her.”
Ma finished with 11 points and shot 3 for 6 from three-point range.
Phillips said guard Jasmine Singleton, who led the Spartans with 6 steals, was extremely competitive and has a will to win games.
“That kid absolutely has a presence on the court for us that I think everyone looks to. She’s done a phenomenal job stepping into a leadership position,” Phillips said.
The Spartans played solid defensively, keeping the Mustangs in check on the offensive glass as Cal Poly had no second-chance points.
“I think my role is just to come in and just make a difference on the court,” senior forward/center Finau Tonga said. “I come in and get rebounds if I’m not scoring, I’m assisting. I think my role is more of just being all-around.”
SJSU went to their inside-to-outside game in the second half, feeding the post and slashing to create looks, allowing the Spartans to shoot 75% on 3-pointers including a three scored by senior forward Nailea Nicholas giving the Spartans a double-digit lead of 48-36 going into the fourth quarter.
“I think that with all the bigs, we all have a presence,” Tonga said. “So, when (opposing) teams come in they’re trying to find a game plan. I think we have a really big presence this year in the lane.”
Freshman guard Jyah LoVett nailed two clutch free-throws to ice the game at 61-56. She finished the game with 4 points and 4 rebounds, including 2 offensive rebounds.
“In this conference, coming into the Mountain West, we’re underdogs and we’re a building program,” Tonga said. “I think we all have that chip on our shoulder, coming into practice everyday and just having a game plan of how we’re going to do everything. We all want to see each other succeed.”
The Spartans are scheduled to face off against Montana State University at 6 p.m. PST at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, Mont., tonight.
