by San Jose, Calif.—– Senior Myzhanique Ladd scored a career-high 27 and teammate Analyss Benally (Navajo) matched her season-high with 15 points as the San José State women’s basketball team defeated Mountain West leader New Mexico on Saturday in The Event Center.
The Spartans (5-10, 2-2 MW) also got 12 points and seven assists from starting guard Taylor Turney. Overall, SJSU had a season-high 25 assists on 34 baskets. Freshman guard Danae Marquez chipped in with a season and game-high eight assists in the win, which snapped New Mexico’s four game winning streak.
The Spartans finished with a 45.9 field goal percentage getting plenty of inside scoring off of clever passing by Turney and Marquez.
San José State overcame deficits of 23-18 at the end of the first quarter and 49-42 at halftime to the Lobos (15-2, 3-1 MW). Ladd kept the Spartans in the game offensively with 16 points in the first half.
The Spartans had one of their better perimeter shooting games of the season converting 12-of-25 three-point field goal tries. San Jose State was 7-of-10 in the second-half from long distance with Benally nailing three in a row in the fourth quarter.
The first gave the Spartans a 73-72 lead with 7:09 to go. After two free throws by Ladd, which gave San Jose State the lead for good, 75-74 with 6:35 left in the third, Benally, who attended a New Mexico women’s basketball summer camp prior to her junior year, blasted the Lobos with three-pointers from the same spot in the right corner on back-to-back possessions in a 14-second span for the Spartans’ first nine-point lead of the game. For the game, Benally, who calls Shiprock N.M. home, was 5-of-6 from three-point territory.
San Jose State led by as many as 12 points, 95-83, late in the fourth quarter before taking the nine point win. SJSU’s 95 points are the second most New Mexico has surrendered this year. Only Oklahoma, which scored 105 on the Lobos, had more.
New Mexico center Jaisa Nunn led all players in scoring with 31 points, her third 30-plus point game of the season, and a game-high 10 rebounds. The Lobos also had three players in double figure scoring with Tesha Buck scoring 17 and Alex Laperolerie chipping in 13 points.
San Jose State outrebounded the taller New Mexico squad, 46-42, with Ladd and Fieme’a Hafoka leading the way with six each. It was a team win for the Spartans with the bench led by Benally outscoring the Lobo reerves, 38-16.
The Spartans return to action, Wednesday, January 10, hosting San Diego State.
