Women's Basketball Opens Season With Fresno State Classic

Nov. 20, 2000

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This Week
FRESNO STATE CLASSIC

Saturday, Nov. 25
Game 1: New Mexico State vs. Southeast Missouri State, 1 p.m.
Game 2: Fresno State vs. Eastern Washington, 3 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 26
Game 3: Consolation Game, 1 p.m.
Game 4: Championship Game, 3 p.m.
All games take place at the North Gym

Next Week
Thursday, Nov. 30
vs. Northern Arizona
Selland Arena -- 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 2
vs. Sacramento State
North Gym -- 2 p.m.

This Week
Fresno State opens up the 2000-01 campaign by hosting the fourth annual Fresno State Classic. The Bulldogs will take on Eastern Washington on Saturday at 3 p.m. The tournament opener, New Mexico State vs. Southeast Missouri State, begins at 1 p.m. The consolation game will be Sunday at 1 p.m. with the championship game slated for 3 p.m.

Last Week
The Bulldogs picked up a convincing win in their exhibition finale, taking out the NWBL Elite 91-59. After a close first 10 minutes, Fresno State busted the game open by outscoring the NWBL 32-11 over the final 10 minutes of the first half. FS was never in trouble in the second half, with the team holding a lead of 30 or more points for most of the final 20 minutes. Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, with forward Omelogo Udeze leading the way with 18. Chantea Fleming had 14 and added a game-high 13 rebounds. Also in double figures were Lindsay Logan (16), Tiffany Simon (13) and Channan High (13).

Picking Up Where She Left Off
Lindsay Logan showed no signs of a sophomore slump in the exhibitions against the Chinese National Team and the NWBL Elite. The sophomore guard led the Bulldogs with 16 points and seven assists against the Chinese then putting up 16 more points against the NWBL. She also added 10 assists over the two games and has had at least six in six of her last seven games at the North Gym. Logan led the WAC last year in assists with a 6.62 average, the first time in conference history a freshman led that category.

Scouting Eastern Washingon
EWU began its season with a 73-61 loss against Cal Poly. The Eagles were led by reserve Jennifer Paluck, who scored 16 points. Michelle Demetruk and Kathleen Nygaard added 12 points each. A shooting percentage of 37 percent and 27 turnovers helped lead to Eastern Washington's demise. The Eagles will play Portland on Monday before traveling to Fresno. EWU returns seven letterwinners and two starters from last year's 11-16 (7-9 Big Sky) team. The team earned its first trip to the Big Sky Tournament for the first time since 1996, and the 11 wins was the most for Eastern Washington since 1995. Leading the Eagles is junior forward Allie Bailey, who had an impressive 9.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game average last year, earning honorable mention All-Big Sky honors for her performance. EWU's other returning starter is Demetruk, a sophomore guard. She chipped in 4.4 points and 2.9 assists per game her rookie season. The Eagles are coached by Jocelyn Pfeifer. She is in her fourth season at the helm and has posted a 23-56 record.

Fresno State All-Time vs. Eastern Washington
The two teams have split the two previous meetings, with Eastern Washington defeating the Bulldogs 73-57 on Nov. 25, 1984. Saturday's game will be the first ever EWU-FS matchup to take place in Fresno.

Scouting New Mexico State
The Bulldogs will run up against either New Mexico State or Southeast Missouri State in their second game. NMSU is off to a 1-0 start after defeating Colorado-Colorado Springs 82-72 on Saturday. The Aggies took on archrival UTEP on Tuesday before coming to play in the Fresno State Classic. Melanie Maynes is NMSU's top returnee. The junior guard scored 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in 1999-00. Sophomore guard Mari Sanchez also scored in double figures last year, averaging 11.6 per game. New Mexico State is coached by John Sutherland. He is in his fifth year at the helm and has posted a 35-70 record.

All-Time vs. New Mexico State
The Aggies and Bulldogs are tied 2-2 in the all-time series. They last hooked up Jan. 16, 1992, when NSMU defeated Fresno State 85-73 in Las Cruces, N.M. The home team has won each time in series history.

Scouting Southeast Missouri State
Southeast Missouri State also won its first game, taking out Missouri-Baptist 83-53 on Friday. The Otahkians do not play again until taking on New Mexico State in the tournament opener. SEMO returns seven letterwinners from the 1999-00 team that went 11-17 (7-11 Ohio Valley). Junior center Pam Iversen leads Southeast Missouri State. She averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last year. Complimenting Iversen's game is that of sophomore forward Lori Chase, who averaged 8.5 points per game and shot 83 percent from the free throw line a year ago. SEMO is also introducing six new players to the team - four junior college transfers and two freshmen. The Otahkians are coached by Ed Arnzen. He is in his 18th year and has posted a 310-177 record.

All-Time vs. Southeast Missouri State
Should SEMO and Fresno State play in the Fresno State Classic, it will mark the first time the two teams have ever met.

The Freshman Class
The Bulldogs freshman class will have a major impact on the team's fortunes this season. Center Mindy Clark, guard/forward Chantea Fleming and guard Annie Fagundes should all see playing time. A 6 feet 4 inches, Clark is the tallest player to play for head coach Britt King during her tenure at Fresno State. The La Habra, Calif., native will provide the Bulldogs with an intimidating shot blocking and rebounding presence in the lane. A 6 feet 1 inch, Fleming can play at either the two or three spot, presenting matchup problems at both because of her solid outside shooting and quickness to the basket. Fagundes provides the Bulldogs with depth at the guard spot.

Logan Returns
Topping the list of returning Bulldogs is sophomore guard Lindsay Logan, a member of the 1999-00 WAC All-Newcomer team. Logan set a Fresno State record last year when she dished out 192 assists, a total which ranks fourth all-time in the history of the Western Athletic Conference. The Sandy, Utah, native also averaged 11.1 points per game, third-best on the team and tops among returnees. She wasted no time making her mark this season, leading Fresno State with 16 points and seven assists in its exhibition loss to the Chinese National Team. Following is a breakdown of where Logan finished in the FS and WAC single-season assist category.

FRESNO STATE SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS   Name               Year    GP  Asts1. Lindsay Logan    1999-00   29   1922. Wendy Martell    1996-87   29   1693. Wendy Martell    1985-86   30   1674. Yannick Souvre   1989-90   33   1665. Jessie Farias    1998-99   28   165
WAC SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS   Name                     Year    Asts1. Alli Bills, Utah       1996-97    2132. Alli Bills, Utah       1997-98    2123. Val Harrison, Wyoming  1991-92    1954. Lindsay Logan, FS      1999-00    1925. Kristen Pool, UNLV     1998-99    191

Tough Defensive Tandem
Channan High and Tiffany Simon should prove to be two of the better defenders in the WAC. High, a sophomore, led the conference in blocked shots, swatting away 1.31 per game. The New Carrollton, Md., native suffered a stress fracture in her left foot and missed five games at the beginning of the season. She progressed steadily and eventually started the final seven games of the year. Simon, one of the quickest players in the WAC, started the final 15 games of the season and, in addition to being a defensive stalwart, improved dramatically on offense. She ended the year averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Fleming Starts Strong
Chantea Fleming has posted back-to-back impressive performances in the Bulldogs' two exhibition games. Despite playing only 13 minutes against the Chinese National Team, Fleming was all over the floor and scored five points and added four rebounds. Her performance garnered her more playing time against the NWBL, and the freshman forward responded, scoring 14 points and adding a game-high 13 rebounds. The Chino Hills, Calif., native also showed her quickness by making four steals.

Strong Inside Game
Fresno State was very impressive down low against the NWBL Elite. Forwards Omelogo Udeze and Chantea Fleming and center Channan High all scored in double figures. For Udeze, it was an especially outstanding game. The sophomore scored a team-high 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting. She also added six rebounds. Fleming was also fabulous, scoring 14 points and adding 13 rebounds. High scored 13 points and, with her shot blocking ability, was a major distraction to any NWBL player who wanted to take a shot in the paint.

Tough Times on the Road
By hosting the Fresno State Classic, the Bulldogs come into the tournament with a big advantage. The combined road record last year of FS's three possible opponents in the tournament was 6-30. The three teams were also a combined 2-5 in neutral site games.

She Was Tireless
Lindsay Logan was a workhorse for Fresno State all last year. She was the only Bulldog to start in all 29 games and led the team and the conference in minutes with a 37.0 average. Starting against Saint Mary's on Jan. 8 and ending Jan. 29 against Tulsa, she played in 215 consecutive minutes and in five games in a row. Logan went the distance in seven games last year and played at least 37 minutes in seven of the final eight games.

They Were Right There
Close but not close enough could describe many Fresno State games last year. The Bulldogs were especially tough against some of the better teams in the Western Athletic Conference. FS went into overtime with top-seed SMU and No. 4 seed Tulsa and lost narrowly to second-seeded Rice and third-seeded Hawai'i. Following is a list of close games in which the Bulldogs came up just short during the 1999-00 year:

Date      Opponent        Leader  Score, Time         Result----------------------------------------------------------------Nov. 21   vs. Ball State    FS    70-69, :11 left     Lost 71-70Jan. 11   at Cal Poly      Tied   65-65, 1:27 left    Lost 69-65Jan. 15   at UTEP           FS    51-47, 2:11 left    Lost 66-61 (ot)Jan. 27   at Rice          Rice   58-54, 2:08 left    Lost 67-58Jan. 29   at Tulsa          FS    37-35, 14:13 left   Lost 75-60Feb.  5   Hawai'i           FS    41-34, 7:53 left    Lost 48-44Feb. 17   at SMU            FS    62-59, 1:11 left    Lost 78-68 (ot)Feb. 24   Tulsa             FS    67-65, :16 left     Lost 75-72 (ot)

Garcia to be a Factor
Laura Garcia gained valuable experience last year and should be a force in the 2000-01 campaign. Despite injuring both ankles during the season, Garcia still finished fourth on the team in scoring with a 8.6 average. She was also second with a 2.8 per game assists average. Despite standing only 5 feet 6 inches, Garcia still managed to grab 3.1 boards per game. She showed her incredible nose for the ball against the NWBL Elite, grabbing six rebounds.

Simon Stepping Up
As the season grow older, Tiffany Simon's performances seemed to get better and better. The sophomore guard had her best two efforts in the final two regular season games. She posted career highs for points, rebounds and assists against San Jose State, then came back two nights later and re-establshed those career highs by scoring 13 points, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out four assists. The Detroit native worked hard in the offseason to improve her game, causing Britt King to remark, "Coming into this season, it's quite obvious how much work Tiffany has put in to improve. She spent a lot of time this summer working on her outside shooting. When you watch her shoot now, it is quite obvious she has worked on her shot." Her hard work has shown in Fresno State's two exhibition games, in which Simon scored in double figures in both.

Lewis, High Finish Atop WAC Statistical Sheet
Joining Lindsay Logan atop a WAC statistic was Tiffany Lewis and Channan High. Lewis finished the season with a 9.0 rebound average and successfully defended her rebounding title, and in so doing became the fourth consecutive Bulldog to win the rebounding crown, following Janee Young (1996-97 and 1997-98). Channan High also finished the season tops in blocked shots with a 1.35 average.

The Schedule
Always important with a young squad is getting off to a good start, and on the surface, the schedule seems to favor Fresno State. For the first time since the 1986-87 season, the Bulldogs will open the season at home. After playing in two exhibition games, FS will host Eastern Washington in the Fresno State Classic on Nov. 25. In fact, the Bulldogs will play their first three games at home. Preseason tournaments hosted by the University of Arizona and Georgia Tech also highlight the non-conference season. Games against Boise State, Northern Arizona and Saint Mary's, among others, will prepare Fresno State for the WAC season, which looks to be as tough as last year, when two teams - SMU and Rice - advanced to the NCAA tournament and pulled shocking first round upsets. FS's conference schedule this year gets underway on Jan. 5 against Rice.

Fresno State Athletics

Women's Basketball Opens Season With Fresno State Classic

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