Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, February 22
San Jose, CA
3 PM MT
Colorado State
64
at
69
San Jose State
Rams Lose Close Battle at San Jose State, 69-64
2/22/2020 5:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Colorado State unable to complete fourth quarter comeback against Spartans.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – A 10-point deficit was slimmed to one basket early in the fourth quarter, but the Colorado State women's basketball team could not capitalize further, leading to the 69-64 defeat to San Jose State on Saturday at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
The Rams scored eight unanswered in the first two and a half minutes of the final frame to pull within two at 53-51. Unfortunately, it woke the Spartans who began to match everything the Rams did. CSU cut its deficit to a basket three more times but could not get it closer or even the margin. The Mountain West's leading scorer, Ayzhiana Basallo, had nine of her game-high 16 points in the fourth to help improve SJSU to 16-11 overall and 10-6 in the conference. Meanwhile, CSU dropped to 12-15 on the season and 6-10 in conference games.
"San Jose State is an explosive team that can really score it, especially Basallo," head coach Ryun Williams said. "The difference was the 3-ball in which SJSU had eight in second half. We are usually good on defending that. In the fourth, we fought back three different times to make it two points, but and got looks at the basket to tie, but couldn't convert. We outrebounded, outshot and took care of the ball better, but lost, so it comes down to making shots."
Four Rams scored in double digits with Tori Williams (15 points) leading the group followed by Jamie Bonnarens (13), Andrea Brady (10), and Lore Devos (10). Williams, Devos and Megan Jacobs each had seven rebounds to pace CSU's plus-10 rebound margin at 44-34. The Rams also continued to take care of the ball with a positive turnover margin and had more shots than SJSU, but the second chance column was the difference maker.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that featured six ties, four lead changes and a margin that didn't exceed six points. San Jose State headed into the break leading 32-31 after a 7-1 run, however the second quarter was controlled mostly by the Rams. Through the first seven and a half minutes of the second frame, Colorado State erased its six-point deficit with a 11-1 scoring streak to take the Rams' largest lead up until that point at 29-25. Scoring-wise, Bonnarens and Brady had a team-high seven points, while Liah Davis produced a productive six points off the bench.
Creating their cushion, the Spartans used a 21-12 third quarter to separate from the Rams. The third 3 of the quarter from SJSU pushed its lead to 10 at the 2:39 mark and what ensued was four-straight made treys in the game – two from each team – including a buzzer beater by the Spartans, which kept their lead at 10 going into the fourth.
The eight Ram fourth quarter points was improved to a 11-3 run. CSU had five offensive rebounds in the fourth, however it resulted in just three points, proving the chances were there. Williams hit her fourth triple of the game at the 2:56 mark and Devos sunk a wide-open trey with 33 seconds left, but Basallo free throws and empty possessions sealed it.
"We have a short turnaround," Williams continued. "We'll fly home, practice tomorrow, and have to be ready for San Diego State. These great seniors have played hard for us. Let's give them one more chance to get a win at Moby and go out on top."
The Rams host senior day Monday evening against San Diego State with a 7 p.m. tip inside Moby Arena.
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
The Rams scored eight unanswered in the first two and a half minutes of the final frame to pull within two at 53-51. Unfortunately, it woke the Spartans who began to match everything the Rams did. CSU cut its deficit to a basket three more times but could not get it closer or even the margin. The Mountain West's leading scorer, Ayzhiana Basallo, had nine of her game-high 16 points in the fourth to help improve SJSU to 16-11 overall and 10-6 in the conference. Meanwhile, CSU dropped to 12-15 on the season and 6-10 in conference games.
"San Jose State is an explosive team that can really score it, especially Basallo," head coach Ryun Williams said. "The difference was the 3-ball in which SJSU had eight in second half. We are usually good on defending that. In the fourth, we fought back three different times to make it two points, but and got looks at the basket to tie, but couldn't convert. We outrebounded, outshot and took care of the ball better, but lost, so it comes down to making shots."
Four Rams scored in double digits with Tori Williams (15 points) leading the group followed by Jamie Bonnarens (13), Andrea Brady (10), and Lore Devos (10). Williams, Devos and Megan Jacobs each had seven rebounds to pace CSU's plus-10 rebound margin at 44-34. The Rams also continued to take care of the ball with a positive turnover margin and had more shots than SJSU, but the second chance column was the difference maker.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that featured six ties, four lead changes and a margin that didn't exceed six points. San Jose State headed into the break leading 32-31 after a 7-1 run, however the second quarter was controlled mostly by the Rams. Through the first seven and a half minutes of the second frame, Colorado State erased its six-point deficit with a 11-1 scoring streak to take the Rams' largest lead up until that point at 29-25. Scoring-wise, Bonnarens and Brady had a team-high seven points, while Liah Davis produced a productive six points off the bench.
Creating their cushion, the Spartans used a 21-12 third quarter to separate from the Rams. The third 3 of the quarter from SJSU pushed its lead to 10 at the 2:39 mark and what ensued was four-straight made treys in the game – two from each team – including a buzzer beater by the Spartans, which kept their lead at 10 going into the fourth.
The eight Ram fourth quarter points was improved to a 11-3 run. CSU had five offensive rebounds in the fourth, however it resulted in just three points, proving the chances were there. Williams hit her fourth triple of the game at the 2:56 mark and Devos sunk a wide-open trey with 33 seconds left, but Basallo free throws and empty possessions sealed it.
"We have a short turnaround," Williams continued. "We'll fly home, practice tomorrow, and have to be ready for San Diego State. These great seniors have played hard for us. Let's give them one more chance to get a win at Moby and go out on top."
The Rams host senior day Monday evening against San Diego State with a 7 p.m. tip inside Moby Arena.
For More on Colorado State Women's Basketball follow: Twitter – CSUWBasketball | Instagram – csuwbasketball | Facebook – @CSUWBasketball
- CSURams.com -
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