Led by 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists from Gritt Ryder, the CSU women’s basketball team erased a 12-point first half deficit to knock off San Jose State 85-76 at the Event Center in San Jose. The win keeps CSU (21-6, 13-3 Mountain West) in first place in the Mountain West.

It wasn’t easy, however.

A Spartans team hungry for a home victory opened the first six and a half minutes of the game on an 18-6 run sparked by four SJSU 3-pointers. CSU finally settled down, and once it did the Rams began to claw their way back into the game. A lay-up from reserve guard Hanne Mestdagh gave CSU its first lead of the game, 26-25, with seven minutes to play in the half. The teams traded leads from there, with the Spartans going up 45-44 with 27 seconds to play on a 3-pointer from Aniya Baker, a lead they would take into halftime.

The second half saw more of the same until CSU used a 12-0 run midway through the second frame to turn a three-point deficit into an eight-point lead in a matter of less than four minutes. From that point on, the Spartans could get no closer than five as the Rams closed out their 13^th win in 15 games.

Junior Alana Arias pitched in 20 points and three rebounds along with Mestdagh, who came off the bench to score 14 points in 19 minutes.

CSU will have the weekend off before returning home to take on Nevada Tuesday at 7 p.m. It will be the first of a two-game homestand to close out the year for the Rams.

Collegian Sports Editor Keegan Pope can be reached at kpope@collegian.com and on Twitter @ByKeeganPope.