The San Jose State women’s basketball team (4-19, 1-11 Mountain West) faced the Colorado State Rams (15-7, 6-6 Mountain West) during a high intensity game Saturday at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
The game looked to go either way but Colorado took advantage of its chances at the free throw line, leading the team to an 84-70 victory.
SJSU fell behind by failing to capitalize on free throws, only making 12-17 free throws.
The SJSU marching band amplified the team spirit throughout the game. As each player was introduced, team and audience members showed their support by dancing for the crowd.
Although the game started off with enthusiasm, the first half did not go well for SJSU, as they were out-scored in both the first and second quarters entering halftime.
In the third quarter, the Spartans and Rams duked it out, draining shots from behind the arch and ending an exciting quarter scoring 23 points each.
The second half of the game resulted in Colorado capitalizing on 21-22 free throws, compared to SJSU’s 10-14 from the line.
During the fourth quarter, SJSU fouled Colorado State nine times, which made it even more difficult to close the score gap.
The Rams made 30 out of 31 free throws for the night when put on the line while the Spartans had difficulties capitalizing when given second-chance buckets, which cost them valuable points.
Head coach Jamie Craighead Turner,said during a Saturday press conference that the game had the most fouls she had ever seen.
“I’ve never seen us in that bad of foul trouble, I think it puts us on our heels,” Turner said. “We don’t have the deepest bench. You have to give them credit for 30 points on the free throw line.”
Turner said the team disagreed with some of the foul calls because it prevented SJSU from standing its ground against strong offensive players including Colorado State point guard Upe Atosu.
Atosu was a force to be reckoned with on the court, dodging and weaving through the defense.
Turner said Atosu was the best opponent the team had faced in the Mountain West as she dominated the court and made the game difficult for the Spartans.
She said the Spartans need to work on their defense because they were unable to prevent the Rams from scoring.
“It seemed like it was harder for us to score than it was for them,” Turner said. It put a little pressure on us. Some fatigue sets in, some frustration with some foul calls.”
Tensions rose as SJSU continued to make “aggressive fouls” on defense, leading to confusion and disagreement with referee calls.
The Spartans were frustrated with the result of the game and showed it.
“It’s hard to lose, you don’t play sports to lose,” Turner said.“You have to find some joy in competing and that's what we’ve been focusing on: staying resilient.”
The Spartans are set to play against San Diego State at the SJSU Provident Credit Union Event Center 6:00 p.m. today.
