Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UTEP
Women's Basketball Snaps Texas Jinx
2/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2002
EL PASO, Texas - Amidst the local backdrop of dry air and even drier land, Fresno State rose from the ashes and found the night ripe for a landmark victory. The Bulldogs defeated UTEP 78-62, marking the first time in program history the team has won a road game in the state of the Texas.
Coming into tonight, Fresno State was 0-19 in the Lone Star State and 2-23 overall, the only victories coming on a neutral court in the 1990 Women's National Invitation Tournament, played in Amarillo, Texas.
But behind Omelogo Udeze, who celebrated her 21st birthday with one of the best performances of her career, the Bulldogs (9-14, 4-9 WAC) were able to snap not only their Texas jinx, but more important their five-game losing streak, the team's longest since the 1995-96 season. Udeze exploded for a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double on the season and first since Dec. 28.
Fresno State began the script for victory at the 3 minute 28 second mark of the first half, when the Bulldogs, who trailed 31-20 at the time, upped the tempo by employing full-court pressure, throwing the UTEP (3-19, 1-13 WAC) offense into a state of confusion. The press allowed the Bulldogs to outscore the Miners 10-0 the remainder of the period and trimmed the UTEP advantage to just 31-30 heading into the locker room.
The Bulldogs continued their domination to start the second half. They increased the run to 24-2 by taking a 44-33 lead when Udeze scored on a layup with 14:32 to go.
Fresno State, which blew an 18-point lead with 10 minutes to play here last season, kept the pressure on. The Bulldogs stretched the lead to 59-41 on an Udeze three-pointer with 9:17 to play. UTEP never got closer than 16 the rest of the way.
In addition to Udeze's monster night, Aritta Lane helped Fresno State's cause by posting a double-double, her sixth of the year. The freshman had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Laura Garcia poured in a season-high 14 points while Lindsay Logan added 10. Also seeing her first significant playing time of the season was freshman Cophie Moore, who responded by scoring a career-high 11 points.
The Miners were led by Dragana Zoric, who came within a whisper of posting the first triple-double in UTEP history with a 15-point, 10-rebound, eight-assist performance. But the Miners -- who have now lost 12 in a row -- hurt themselves with 20 turnovers.
In putting together one of their best performances of the year, Fresno State executed offensively better than it has since scoring 93 against UTEP on Jan. 19. The Bulldogs outscored the Miners 58-31 from the 3:28 mark of the first half on. In addition, Fresno State committed just three turnovers the entire second half and had five players score in double figures for the first time since Dec. 5, 1998.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a game Saturday at Boise State. Game time is 6 p.m. PST.
