Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose St
San Jose State Upends Women's Basketball 73-59
2/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2001
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Behind an inspired performance from Atari Parker, San Jose State snapped a seven-game losing streak against Fresno State, defeating the Bulldogs 73-59 at The Event Center. The win improves SJSU's record to 12-10 (4-8 WAC) while FS drops to 8-15 (4-7 WAC).
Parker, who played at Fresno State during the 1998-99 season, scored 23 points against her former team, her second 20-plus point performance against the Bulldogs in as many weeks. The win marks only the third time San Jose State has defeated FS in the last 29 meetings between the two schools. FS leads the all-time series 31-14.
Fresno State found itself in trouble just three minutes into the game. With the score tied 4-4, the Spartans began a 19-5 run which put them ahead 23-9 with 8:55 remaining. Aiding in San Jose State's fortune was anemic shooting by the Bulldogs, who hit only 2 of their first 17 attempts. Meanwhile, SJSU was hitting 45 percent of its shots and led by as many as 15 before settling for a 36-25 lead at the intermission.
Things didn't get any better for Fresno State in the second half. San Jose State scored the first five points coming out of the locker room to take a 16-point advantage. The Bulldogs got as close as nine with 4 minutes 53 seconds remaining, but less than two minutes later, the advantage was back up to 15 and San Jose State remained in control the rest of the way.
San Jose State was also helped by the return of point guard Cricket Williams, who missed the first game between the two rivals with an illness. With Williams, who had 12 assists, running the offense, SJSU had eight different players score, compared to only five in the first meeting.
The Fresno State loss came despite a monster performance by Omelogo Udeze, who scored 18 points and hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds. Lindsay Logan added 14, the 22nd time in 23 games she has scored in double figures.
In addition to Parker's performance, San Jose State received a balanced scoring attack from the likes of Danada Smith (11 points), Cricket Williams (nine points) and Tatiana Taylor (nine points).
Next up for the Bulldogs is Tulsa, which FS will play Friday at 7 p.m. at the North Gym.
