Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose St
Women's Basketball Dropped by San Jose State 65-48
2/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. - San Jose State strayed from its usual mode of operations and pounded away inside at Fresno State en route to a 65-48 victory in the home finale at the North Gym. The win gives the Spartans a sweep of the season series for the first time since the 1982-83 season.
Led the entire year by solid guard play from WAC leading scorer Cricket Williams, San Jose State (15-10, 10-6 WAC) is in the midst of its most successful run since the 1982-83 season. But in this game, SJSU turned to the Taylor twins - forwards Tatiana and Teoma - who had 15 and 12 points, respectively. The Spartans also pounded Fresno State on the glass, finishing with a 48-36 advantage in rebounding. MiaTonya Smith sparked San Jose State with a career-high 17 boards, including 10 in the first half.
SJSU put the Bulldogs (9-17, 4-12 WAC) behind the eight ball immediately. Just 12 minutes into the contest, the Spartans jumped to a 23-12 lead. The bulge increased to as much as 16 before Fresno State pared it down to 12 on a Lindsay Logan jumper at the buzzer. The Bulldogs spread the scoring around in the opening stanza, with no player having more than four points at the break.
The Spartans managed to keep Fresno State at arms distance the entire second half, never running away with the game but never allowing the Bulldogs to sink their teeth into it, either. Fresno State clipped the advantage to 48-40 with 9:19 to go, but that was as close as it would get. Immediately after the Bulldogs cut the lead to eight, San Jose State ran off eight points in a row to put the contest on ice.
The game was another in a chapter of recent frustrating offensive performances for Fresno State. In the last three games, the Bulldogs have averaged only 48.3 points while shooting just 30 percent. Fresno State has lost all three of those contests.
The Bulldogs were led by Aritta Lane, whose 10 points made her the only Fresno State player to score in double figures. FS committed 25 turnovers, the most since a season-high 28 on Dec. 28. The Bulldogs also went 0-for-10 from beyond the arc, snapping a streak of 83 consecutive games of making at least one three-pointer.
Lindsay Logan, the third leading scorer in the WAC, finished with six points and moved up to fifth on Fresno State's all-time scoring list. She remained on pace to break the school record for points scored in a career sometime next year.
The Bulldogs hit the road next week for the final two games of the regular season. The Bulldogs open the week Thursday at sixth-ranked Louisiana Tech (20-4, 15-1 WAC) at 5 p.m.
