Berkeley, CA – Winthrop hung on to defeat San Jose State on the second and final day of the California Berkeley Tournament by a final score of 56-49 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Winthrop (4-3) | San Jose State (3-4)
Nov. 25, 2023 | Haas Pavillion
Winthrop 49, San Jose State 56
 
How it Happened
 
First Quarter | Down 2-0 a few seconds in, Leonor Paisana's fast break layup off a Spartan turnover tied it up. The Spartans broke the tie with a three-pointer on the next play and then made a layup following an early timeout to go up five. San Jose State also held the Eagles without a field goal for six minutes. Paisana then hit a free throw during the drought and after another San Jose State deep shot to go up 10-3 with less than five minutes left, Winthrop went on a 6-0 run to make it a one-point game at the 1:46 mark. Ronaltha Marc capped off the run on a follow-up layup. The two teams concluded the quarter by trading three-point scores, leaving Winthrop down 13-12.
 
Second Quarter | San Jose State hit a triple to start the second quarter but the Eagles scored 11 straight points to forge ahead 24-16 with nearly two minutes left while holding the Spartans scoreless for more than eight minutes. Paisana's free throw capped off the run. San Jose State responded with two straight three-pointers to cut it to two a minute later but Angel Burgos's layup at the buzzer gave Winthrop a 26-22 lead heading into the break.
 
Third Quarter | Both teams each got a pair of baskets to begin the third quarter and as a result, Winthrop led 31-26 three minutes in. The Eagles extended the lead to 10 with nearly five minutes left on two Paisana free throws, a layup by Marissa Gasaway and a free throw by Blessing Okoh. Winthrop maintained a lead of 7-12 points for the next couple of minutes. Okoh's free throws with nearly three minutes remaining gave the Eagles a 43-31 lead, their largest lead of the game up to that point. The Spartans then hit consecutive shots from deep to slice Winthrop's lead in half but Marc's jumper with a minute left put Winthrop ahead eight at 45-37 going into the final quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter | Paisana and Jada Ryce's layup put Winthrop back up 12 with 8:07 remaining. San Jose State made a basket and a free throw to make it a nine-point affair with nearly five minutes left while holding the Eagles scoreless for seven minutes. But their defensive stand was rendered irrelevant, as the Winthrop defensive unit was also equal to the challenge, as those three points by the Spartans were their only points for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. But with Winthrop still up nine at 49-40 with nearly five minutes remaining in the contest, San Jose State began to rally, scoring six straight points to cut it to three at the 2:47 mark. Ryce finally ended the offensive drought for the Eagles by hitting six huge free throws inside of a minute to seal the victory.
 
Statistical Standouts (Team)

• Winthrop moves to 602-894 all-time as a program.
• Five Eagles played more than 30 minutes.
• Two Eagles got three steals.
• Three Eagles got into double figures in points.
• Winthrop shot 80% from the free throw line.
• Winthrop shot 40% from the field in the third quarter.
• This is Marc and Paisana's third double-figure game in points.
• This was Ryce's second double-figure game in points and now has more than 400 career points (408).
• This is Winthrop's first victory at a neutral site since beating Mississippi State 61-59 on Nov. 20, 2012 at the 2012 Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Mexico.

Statistical Standouts (Individual)
Leonor Paisana (34 min, 7-10 FT, 2 steals, 14 points)
Jada Ryce (34 min, 6-6 FT, 6 rebounds, 12 points)
Ronaltha Marc (35 min, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 11 points)
 
Up Next
Winthrop returns home for four straight contests, starting with UNCW on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
 
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