A disappointing loss in the first round of the Mountain West tournaments ends a similarly disappointing season for the SJSU women’s basketball program. Although the season was frustrating and up-and-down, it’s important to take a look back and learn from it. In doing so, we tend to see some silver lining. In this article, we’ll review the WBB season and find some of our own.
SJSU women’s basketball has been on the struggle bus for some time. Entering the season, the program hadn’t won more than 7 games in a season since the 2019-20 campaign. For a short time, it looked like that wouldn’t change. After all, they had just lost a number of players to the transfer portal, including their top 3 leading scorers from the previous season in Amhyia Moreland (New Mexico), Sabrina Ma (UCSD), and Jyah LoVett (Arizona State). Fortunately, Coach April Phillips and her staff quickly went to work and remedied this issue with what proved to be a strong transfer class. Joining the program this year was Hennie Van Schaik (Louisville), Djessira Diawara (Houston), Amira Brown (Tulsa), Rylei Waugh (Pima CC) and Amiah Simmons (Alabama A&M).
In non-conference play, the Spartans finished 7-6 across 13 games. The Spartans were able to handle lesser opponents without much issue, as evidenced by some strong offensive performances against San Francisco State and Bethesda. In just their third game of the season against the Gators, SJSU had 4 double-digit scorers, with Finau Tonga leading the pack with 22 pts. Just before Christmas break in their final non-conference game, the Spartans hit the century mark on the scoreboard, courtesy of a season-high 27 pts from Sofia Kelemeni and a double-double from Tonga. This would be the only time the Spartans scored 100 pts in a game, and the last time they scored more than 90 pts. Against tougher opponents, the offense faced resistance. But even then, SJSU was averaging 58 PPG across their 6 non-conference losses. It’s also important to note that Simmons was sidelined for over a month with an ankle injury she suffered in November against CSUN. This of course meant she missed out on the in-season tournament in Puerto Rico. SJSU finished 1-1 in the Puerto Rico Classic, which took place in late November, suffering an overtime loss to UNC Wilmington and stealing a 1-pt win over UMass Lowell after erasing a 13-pt deficit at the half. Diawara led the team in Game 1 with a double-double (15 pts, season-high 14 rebounds) and Kelemeni energized the Game 2 comeback victory with a 20 pt performance. Overall, the Spartans entered conference play on a strong note, notching their most wins in non-conference play in 4 years (Oh, and by the way, their 7 preseason wins and 10 total wins were both the most since 2019-20).
Such play would not carry over into conference play, where the Spartans managed to finish 3-15. Additionally, Kelemeni suffered a season-ending leg injury in just their second game against UNLV. SJSU finished second-to-last in the standings, only in front of Utah State. The Spartans did not get into the win column until their 5th game of conference play, where they took down Air Force at home. Their next two wins came at San Diego State in late January and against Nevada in early February. SJSU entered the MW tournament as the #11 seed on a 6-game losing streak, promptly losing to Fresno State in the 1st round.
I would be remiss to ignore the ups of conference play. For starters, Simmons played out of her mind when she returned to the lineup. The Alabama A&M transfer appeared in 16 of the 17 conference regular season games, missing the first matchup against Nevada due to the aforementioned injury. Across that span, Simmons put up double-digit points in 13 of those games. 10 games of which were 20+ point performances, peaking with a 32 point performance against Fresno State on February 1st. Additionally, Simmons embarked on a 9-game streak with 10+ points each game before notching just 9 vs Nevada, then closing out the regular season with a 7-game streak after that. When it was all said and done, Simmons led the Spartans in scoring (374 points and 15.6 PPG) despite playing in just 24 games. What’s more is Simmons was also the 2nd-best scorer in the conference, averaging 19.4 PPG across the Mountain West schedule. For me to say Simmons was pretty good would be an egregious understatement.
There were a variety of other contributors for the Spartans. Most notably, Sydni Summers had 17 double-digit performances of her own. Summers came in top-10 in all 3-PT categories within the conference. Her 69 3-PTs put her at #6 on the all-time single season list at SJSU, as well as setting the program record for a sophomore. Summers also led the Spartans with 74 assists, and was the 2nd-leading scorer on the team with 317 points. Diawara led the Spartans with 195 total rebounds across the season and was 3rd in team scoring. Diaward, Tonga, and Brown were the main reason this team was so dominant inside the paint; as a team, the Spartans were among the top in the conference in all rebounding categories. Tonga, Rylei Waugh and Brown all finished with 235, 230, and 228 points, respectively. Overall, the Spartans led their conference in assists, averaging 16.9 PPG.
Photo courtesy of Janai Jessee and Evan Weiss | @janaiphoto, @chevan.pov
We see that the offense was at its best when everyone got touches, and when this happened Simmons was able to take advantage of vulnerable defenses. So what happened to SJSU WBB? The offense was averaging 62.3 PPG (far better than their non-conference schedule), but the record tells us a different story than what would’ve been expected. The definitive problem for SJSU were the turnovers.
In conference play the Lady Spartans gave up the ball 311 times, 29 more than the next worst! On average, 17.28 turnovers were committed each game, alongside a -4.78 turnover margin. SJSU turned the ball over 20+ times four times, including 26 times against Air Force, although they did manage to get the win. And although the offense did well, it was inconsistent at times. As a team, FG% and 3PTFG% were among the worst in the conference. Finally, perhaps the most forgettable moment of the season was the first loss against Utah State, which was their second win of the season and their first conference win up to that point (SJSU dropped both contests to the Aggies).
Such issues are easily able to be corrected in the offseason. Many would argue that the departing class is a bigger issue, as we don’t know how Coach Phillips and her staff will replace them. Among the players leaving are Simmons, Tonga, Diawara, Marisa Davis-Jones, Jasmine Singleton, and Van Schaik. The departure of the top offensive contributors, as well as the two dominant rebounding forces inside the paint is a pressing problem for next season. The team already possesses some great offensive players, but losing Diawara Tonga, and Van Schaik creates a dilemma for a program now lacking a presence underneath the basket. The portal looks to provide a quick solution, but it remains to be seen whether such a class comes close to the same caliber of last offseason.
It’s not in my nature to end a piece on such a negative note; so, before we close it out, I should mention I was able to ask Van Schaik some questions regarding her year here. Van Schaik transferred in from Louisville last offseason and finished her collegiate career as a Spartan. In asking about her time in San Jose, she had this to say:
“Something I won’t forget is the bonds that me and my teammates have created, obviously we struggled this season and we always found a way to stay positive and keep our laughter through hardships and that is worth so much to me.
I will miss the environment and vibe of college basketball. It’s kinda hard to explain because not too many people know about the environment of basketball in Europe, but it’s just so centered on sports over here in a way that you feel like a superstar sometimes.”
I also figured since SJSU would have to go into the portal and sell not just the program, but the city, I should also ask about what brought her to the South Bay:
“I think it’s beautiful. Kind of reminds me of the Netherlands cause there’s a lot more green in the Bay Area than in SoCal.”
It’s hard to argue with that. Have you seen Mt. Hamilton lately? Not to mention the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west of the city. Anyways, we see that for players like Van Schaik, Silicon Valley was more than just a stop; it was a chapter full of growth and friendship. So as SJSU enters the offseason, the hope is that other athletes will see the program in the same light she did.
Author’s Note: This article covers the 2024-25 season. A special thanks to Hennie Van Schaik for her participation. Additionally, you can keep up with coverage of women’s basketball and more on ksjs.org/blog, as well as through Instagram via @ksjssports and @ksjsfm.
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