SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Tigers fell behind early against San Jose State and despite a strong second half, it was not enough as the Spartans claimed victory 71-60. A tale of two halves the Tigers trailed by 14 at halftime. In the second half Pacific outscored the Spartans 31-28 but could not close the entire gap in the second loss of the season for the Tigers.
The Tigers started out hot from behind the arc, with
Jordan Cruz hitting two early threes to swing the momentum in the Tigers favor. San Jose State responded quickly, going on multiple scoring runs to take a six-point lead at the end of the quarter. The two teams scored in bunches in the second quarter, with it being the highest scoring quarter of the game. Heading into the half, Cruz led the team with nine points.
The third quarter was the turning point for the Tigers, moving to a very aggressive full court press they forced multiple turnovers of the Spartans and started to dig into the lead.
Erica Adams, on her way to her best game of the season had seven points and four steals in the third quarter alone.
With the defense causing a multitude of issues for the Spartans, the Tigers fourth quarter was the best of the game. They outscored San Jose State by five points in the quarter while holding the Spartans to their worst quarter offensively. It was too late for the Tigers, as the ten-minute quarter was not enough time for them to overcome the deficit.
The two teams were very even from a shooting perspective, with the Spartans only making two more field goals then the Tigers. The difference in the game was free throws, with the Spartans shooting 24 and the Tigers only shooting 13.
Adams finished the game with 17 points and five rebounds. Cruz was second in scoring with 11 points while
Madelene Ennis led the team in rebounds with seven and was tied for the assist lead with
Anaya James as both players had four.
The Tigers are headed down south next week, as they fly to Texas for games against Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Rice before the Thanksgiving holiday.
