Forty days removed from their last victory, CSUN women’s basketball (2-7) has dropped its seventh straight after being outscored by 21 in an abysmal second half.
CSUN took on San Jose State (5-6), a team that recently defeated Bethesda, a National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) school, by 94. The Matadors have a 6-9 all-time record against San Jose State, who they first played in 1994.
History may have favored the Spartans, but the Matadors got one of their veterans back in redshirt junior Ana Carolina De Jesus, who missed the first eight games of the season with an injury.
“It was amazing,” freshman Kaitlyn Elsholz said about her teammate coming back. “Having Ana out there was awesome, just seeing her come back and after one week of practice already playing nineteen, eighteen minutes and being a leader on the floor, and just her aggressiveness in the paint and her defense.”
However, De Jesus’ presence was hardly felt on the court as she recorded zero points on 0-4 shooting in 15 minutes. She only managed to pick up three rebounds and one steal.
Another key piece for the Matadors, junior Kayanna Spriggs, was on a minutes restriction for personal reasons. She started every game up until this point, and made her presence felt on the glass, leading the team with 5.6 boards per game. Spriggs usually plays upwards of 25 minutes a game, but only played for 15 against the Spartans, hitting only one shot on 1-4 shooting and grabbing one rebound.
Because of these wrinkles, the Matadors had to rely on redshirt juniors Erica Adams and Talo Li-Uperesa, who put up 12 and 10 points, respectively, to get the offense going. Off the bench, Elsholz led the way with 17, courtesy of her 3-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
“That wouldn’t have happened if my teammates didn’t make the extra pass and believe in me,” Elsholz said.
The Spartans had two weeks off before they faced off against the Matadors, and came in playing a little rusty to start the game. They were led by freshman Jyah LoVett, who went for 17, and sophomore Sabrina Ma, who put up 15, nine rebounds and seven assists. Meanwhile, junior Amhyia Moreland and sophomore Sofia Kelemeni contributed a combined 19 to provide a spark off the bench.
The Spartans were able to keep the Matadors on their heels in the first quarter thanks to four steals which all led to layups. The Matadors had 19 turnovers in the game, leading to 26 points by the Spartans, a big reason CSUN struggled producing.
The Matadors kept it close in the first half thanks to their 11/23 shooting from the field. San Jose State took a 21-20 lead with six minutes left in the half, but the Matadors went on a 9-0 run sparked by three free throws from freshman Amiyah Ferguson. On the two ensuing plays, the Matadors got a steal and a block, both of which led to buckets by Ferguson.
San Jose State cut it to two towards the end of the half, but a pair of free throws gave the Matadors a four-point edge before the horn, making the score 33-29.
CSUN went 9/9 from the line in the first 20 minutes, which gave them the edge but wasn’t enough, as they only attempted two more free throws in the second half.
When the second period began, the Spartans went into their two-three zone, and the Matadors, unable to penetrate, struggled to generate any offense. It took CSUN almost five minutes to break through in the third, as they finally managed to put points on the board when Li-Uperesa drove in for the layup. That gave the Matadors a 35-34 lead, the last one they would have in the game.
Head coach Carlene Mitchell said the Spartans shifted their offensive play in the second half, and the Matadors couldn’t find a way to cool them down.
“They went to their bigs a lot more in the second half and were able to finish down low, so we tried to go into a zone to stop them,” Mitchell said. That’s when they started kicking it out to their shooters.
The Spartans outscored the Matadors 12-8 the rest of the quarter to take a three-point lead into the final period.
Every time the Matadors tried to make a push in the fourth, the Spartans buried a three to silence them. CSUN went into a zone themselves, but San Jose State went to their bigs down low, who either finished or kicked it out to an open shooter on the perimeter.
The Spartans went on a 14-5 run to start the fourth, capped off by threes from Kelemeni and Ma, to extend their lead to 12. Kelemeni hit another one a few minutes later, and senior Nailea Nicholas tacked on one more with two minutes left.
Unable to respond to the onslaught, the Matadors fell 70-53 after giving up 24 points in the final frame.
“We came out flat after halftime and we’re still in the process of just figuring out our rhythm as a team,” Elsholz said. “Last game, we struggled at the beginning and then came out strong, so then this game, we did the opposite. It’s just really trying to put all four quarters together and we’ll be good.”
SJSU’s zone caused the Matadors to falter in their ball movement as well, as CSUN only had eight assists to the Spartans’ 19.
Mitchell said the zone is all about making the defenders move so you can penetrate, one of the main things the Matadors struggled with.
The Matadors will attempt to break their seven-game losing streak at home Thursday against Loyola Marymount.
