Three Road Games This Week for Women's Basketball

Dec. 4, 2000

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This Week

Tuesday, Dec. 5
at Loyola Marymount
Los Angeles, Calif. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 9
vs. Bowling Green
Tucson, Ariz. - 4 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 10
at Arizona
Tucson, Ariz. - 2 p.m.

Next Week
Wednesday, Dec. 13
vs. Pacific
North Gym - 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 16
at Boise State
Boise, Idaho - 6 p.m.

This Week
Fresno State hits the road for the first time this year, playing three games away from the North Gym. The week kicks off with the Bulldogs taking on Loyola Marymount on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Also on tap is the Arizona Basketball Classic in Tucson, Ariz. FS will play Bowling Green on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Arizona on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Last Week
The Bulldogs went 1-1 in their two games last week. Against Northern Arizona, Fresno State couldn't hold a six-point lead with under six minutes to play and fell to the Lumberjacks 57-52 at Selland Arena. Two days later, FS rebounded and snuck past Sacramento State 67-61. Lindsay Logan had a solid week, scoring 31 points and adding 11 assists in the two games. Omelogo Udeze was fantastic against Northern Arizona, tallying a career-high 19 points.

More Impressive Performances for Logan
Lindsay Logan scored 17 points in leading Fresno State to a 67-61 win over Sacramento State, the fourth consecutive game in which she has scored in double figures. It marks the first time in Logan's career she has scored in double digits in points in four games in a row. The Sandy, Utah, native saw time at the two-guard position in both games to further utilize her scoring ability. Nonetheless, the sophomore still found time to dish out a game-high eight assists against Sacramento State. It was the 28th time in her 33 career games she has led the team in assists.

Inside Presence
Fresno State's inside game has been exceptional this season. Channan High has been leading the charge, grabbing 9.0 rebounds per game, including a career-high 12 in the victory over Sacramento State. High also has seven blocks on the year, continuing the trend which placed her tops in the WAC last year in that category. Omelogo Udeze has also been solid. She scored a career-high 19 points against Northern Arizona and is second on the team in rebounds with a 6.5 average.

Scouting Loyola Marymount
The Lions have started the season 3-2 after falling to Florida International and defeating Cal State Northridge last week. LMU was picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference's preseason coaches' poll. The Lions are led by senior guard Taryn Reynolds, who is tops on the team with a 17.3 scoring average. She is also averaging 5.0 assists per game. Sophomore guard/forward Kate Murray chips in 12.5 points per game and is first on LMU with a 6.8 rebounds average. Loyola Marymount is coached by Julie Wilhoit. She has a 43-98 record and is in her sixth season.

Fresno State All-Time vs. Loyola Marymount
Fresno State leads the all-time series 1-0. The two teams last met Dec. 11, 1999, a game won by Fresno State 68-65 at the North Gym. The Bulldogs trailed by seven points with 4:48 to go but put up a 9-0 run to key a comeback. Tiffany Lewis had 14 points and 16 rebounds in the victory. Bryn Britton racked up 23 points, including five three-pointers, and Rosa Bernasconi had 18.

Loyola Marymount Recent Action
The Lions went 1-1 last week, defeating Cal State Northridge 75-59 and falling to Florida International 67-63. Taryn Reynolds had 18 points against FIU while Porterville, Calif., native Bryn Britton had 23 against the Matadors. Reynolds was also solid against Cal State Northridge, scoring 16 points.

Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green, located in scenic Bowling Green, Ohio, comes into this week with a 2-3 record with losses in its last two games. Junior guard Francine Miller paces the Falcons with a 12.8 per game scoring average. However, she was injured in the Falcons' loss to Detroit and may miss Saturday's game. Also impressive has been senior guard Angie Farmer, who is averaging 10.2 points per game. One thing is sure to happen when Bowling Green takes the court - three-pointers are going to be attempted. BGSU is averaging 20 three-point attempts per game, making an average of eight. Heading into their game against Detroit last week, the Falcons were on pace to attempt 553.5 threes this season. Bowling Green is also allowing an average of 88.2 points per game. BGSU plays St. Bonaventure on Tuesday and Arizona on Friday before taking on the Bulldogs. The head coach of Bowling Green is Dee Knoblauch, who is in her 26-34 record and is in her third season at the helm.

Fresno State All-Time vs. Bowling Green
The Bulldogs and Falcons have never met. In fact, the game will be the first time Fresno State has ever played an school from the Buckeye State.

Bowling Green Recent Action
The Falcons opened the season with four games in eight days but played only one last week, a 94-75 loss to Detroit. A 1-for-14 slump in the first 10 minutes of the second half doomed BGSU, which shot only 32 percent in the loss. In contrast, Detroit was 46 percent from the floor. Freshman Lindsay Foster had 13 points.

Scouting Arizona
Arizona heads into this week 3-1, with its only loss coming at then-No. 5 Notre Dame. The Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the Pac-10 in the preseason media poll. The Wildcats are led by junior forward Elizabeth Pickney, who is averaging 15.8 points and 7.0 boards per game. Also thriving is freshman forward Veranda James, who is averaging 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds. U of A plays UNLV on Wednesday and Bowling Green on Friday before taking on Fresno State. Arizona is coached by Joan Bonvicini. She has a 162-106 record and is in her 10th season.

Fresno State All-Time vs. Arizona
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 1-0. The only meeting between the two came Dec. 9, 1994, a 70-56 FS victory at the North Gym.

Arizona Recent Action
Arizona defeated Rice 84-71 in its only game last week. Veranda James led the Wildcats with 24 points and 16 rebounds, garnering her second double-double of the year. Arizona held the Owls to just 34 percent shooting and outscored Rice 43-31 in the second half.

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 in scoring in both of its first two games. She also dished out 13 assists in both Fresno State Classic games, including eight against New Mexico State. Against Northern Arizona, Logan played part of the game at the two-guard position to take advantage of her scoring ability, cutting down on her number of assists. In fact, Logan didn't lead Fresno State in assists for only the fifth time in 32 career games. Following is where Logan ranked last year on the Fresno State and WAC single-season assists lists:

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 have proven to be precious defensive commodities. After leading the WAC in blocked shots a year ago, High has come out of the chute firing again, swatting away seven shots in the Bulldogs first four games. She has also made eight steals so far this season. Simon has shown she is just as good defensively. One of the fastest players in the entire conference, Simon corralled a career-high nine rebounds against Sacramento State and is averaging 5.8 per game. The duo's defensive exploits haven't taken up all their time, however. Simon ranks third and High fourth on the team in points per game.

She's Still Tireless
More depth at the guard position should mean Lindsay Logan gets more breaks during games this year. Nonetheless, after leading the team and the WAC with a 37.0 minutes per game average last year, Logan is clocking 36.5 per game this season. However, she played only 33 in the loss to Northern Arizona, just the third time in the last 18 games Logan registered less than 34. The sophomore played 38 against Sacramento State, 35 in the season opener against Eastern Washington and a full 40 against New Mexico State.

Fresno State Classic Recap
New Mexico State won the fourth annual Fresno State Classic with a 75-57 victory over host Fresno State in the championship game. It marked the fourth consecutive year the Bulldogs have finished runner-up in their own tournament. Eastern Washington took third place by defeating Southeast Missouri State 67-64 in the consolation game. Lindsay Logan was named the tournament MVP after scoring 19 points in the win against Eastern Washington, then following that up with a 14-point, eight-assist performance against New Mexico State. Following is the all-tournament team:

Jennifer Paluck, Eastern Washington
Veronica Benson, Southeast Missouri State
Ivana Stojkovic, New Mexico State
Princess Moore, New Mexico State
Tiffany Simon, Fresno State
Tournament MVP: Lindsay Logan, Fresno State

They've Been Right There
Close but not close enough could describe many Fresno State games last year. On six occasions, the Bulldogs were either tied with or ahead of their opponent with under five minutes to play only to end up losing. This unfortunate trend has continued this season in both of Fresno State's losses. Against New Mexico State, the Bulldogs were tied with the Aggies 57-57 with 5:38 to play only to allow NMSU to go on a 18-0 for the remainder of the game and emerge victorious 75-57. The Bulldogs appeared headed for a victory against Northern Arizona on Thursday only to have a six-point lead with 5:42 remaining turn into a 16-5 Lumberjack run, keying a 57-52 NAU victory.

Fleming Takes Over
Five minutes into Saturday's game against Sacramento State, the Bulldogs were down 7-2 and looking sluggish. Enter Chantea Fleming, who proceeded to completely take over the game the first eight minutes she played. From the 15-minute mark, when Fleming entered, until 7:46 remained in the first half, the freshman scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and made three steals. An minor injury suffered late in the first half kept Fleming out of action for most of the second half. The Chino Hills, Calif., native is expected to return this week.

Bench Coming Through
Fresno State's bench has been a valuable asset through the first four games. Omelogo Udeze came off the bench in the first two games and was especially impressive against Eastern Washington, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Chantea Fleming came off the bench and produced 15 points in an eight-minute span off the bench in keying Fresno State's victory over Sacramento State. Laura Garcia and Mindy Clark have also been a positive for the Bulldogs. Thus far, the bench is averaging 13.3 points and 52 minutes per game.

Simon Stepping Up
As last season grew older, Tiffany Simon's performances seemed to get better and better. The sophomore guard had her two best 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, and it has shown in her efforts through the first four games. The sophomore is third on the squad in points with a 11.3 per game average and has scored in double figures in three of the four games. She has also been outstanding on the boards, pulling down a career-high nine against Sacramento State. Simon has also been much more than just an outside threat, as well. Her ability to rebound mixed with a penchant for taking the ball to the hoop have resulted in 16 trips to the free throw line, second on the team.

Noting Last Week's Action

Omelogo Udeze scored a career-high 19 points against Northern Arizona.
Lindsay Logan scored in double figures in both games and has posted double figures in points in all four Fresno State contests.
The Bulldogs forced 51 turnovers in the two games.
Tiffany Simon had nine rebounds against Sacramento State, a career high.
FS had less than 20 turnovers against both Northern Arizona and Sacramento State and have less than 20 in the last three games.
Channan High had 12 rebounds against Sacramento State, a career high.
The Bulldogs shot 56 percent in the second half against the Hornets, allowing FS to post a six-point victory.
Chantea Fleming had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals in an eight-minute stretch in the first half against Sacramento State.
Fresno State outrebounded Sacramento State 40-30.
The Bulldogs struggled from three-point territory, hitting on only four of their 23 attempts (.174)
FS also struggled from the free throw line, making only 17 of its 32 shots from the charity stripe (.531).
Both Northern Arizona and Sacramento State had 15 personal fouls against Fresno State. In fact, all four Bulldogs' opponents have finished with 15 fouls.
Mindy Clark had two points against Northern Arizona, the first two points of her collegiate career.

It's Raining Threes
Fresno State made two three-pointers against Sacramento State, meaning the Bulldogs have now made at least one three-pointer in 33 consecutive games. The last time FS did not make a three in a game was March 1, 1998, a 78-48 loss to Rice in the WAC tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.

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 opened the season at home. After playing in two exhibition games, FS hosted the Fresno State Classic, defeating Eastern Washington before falling to New Mexico State. Currently, the Bulldogs are in the midst of a four-game homestand. Also on the non-conference schedule are preseason tournaments hosted by the University of Arizona and Georgia Tech. 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.

Down the Road
After three road games this week, Fresno State's schedule next week doesn't get much easier. The Bulldogs return to Fresno on Sunday night and host Pacific on Wednesday, Dec. 13. FS also travels to Boise State on Saturday, Dec. 16.

Fresno State Athletics

Three Road Games This Week for Women's Basketball

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