Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe<BR>(Fresno State Classic)
Women's Basketball Routs Louisiana-Monroe, 88-56
11/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2003
FRESNO, Calif.- Fresno State combined a lights-out shooting performance with an aggressive defense to produce an 88-56 rout of the University of Louisiana-Monroe on Friday night in the opening round of the seventh annual Fresno State Classic.
The Bulldogs evened their overall record at 1-1 with the win, their biggest margin of victory since a 93-63 triumph over UTEP on Jan. 19, 2002. Fresno State trailed only for a brief three-minute stretch in the opening period before putting the game out of reach.
Fresno State made 34 of 67 from the field (50.7-percent), scoring 45 in the first half and 43 in the second. Five different Bulldog players reached double figures in the win, led by junior Aritta Lane (Aiea, Hawaii) with 16. Sophomore Lauren Selmon (Norman, Okla.) and freshman Jasmine Plummer (Natomas, Calif.) both established career highs with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Bulldogs held the advantage in every statistical category over the Lady Indians (1-2), who shot just 30.7-percent overall and scored just 25 points after intermission.
"We needed a performance like this tonight after our loss last weekend," said head coach Stacy Johnson-Klein. "I thought a lot of new players stepped up and contributed in different ways. I was especially pleased with our intensity and execution on defense."
It helped that Fresno State held the rebounding edge as well, a glaring 53-33 count. Plummer and fellow freshman Brittani Green (Dallas, Texas) led the 'Dogs with seven apiece. Every player on the roster saw floor time in the win.
After Fresno State held an early 5-4 lead, Louisiana-Monroe stormed back on an 11-2 run to take its largest lead at 15-7 with 13:43 left in the opening period. However, the Bulldogs answered with a 17-4 run to take a 24-19 lead capped by a lay-up from Plummer.
ULM then cut the deficit to 30-29 after Nina Randle, who led the Lady Indians with 16, hit a jumper. But Fresno State closed out the half on a 15-2 run that was highlighted by seven points from junior Veronica Mack (Phoenix, Ariz.).
Louisiana-Monroe opened the second half by misfiring on its first 10 shots, allowing the Bulldogs to score 14 unanswered points. That put Fresno State up 59-31 until Randle made ULM's first basket at the 14:22 mark.
Fresno State coasted from that point on, outscoring Louisiana-Monroe 43-25 in the second period.
The Bulldogs now host No. 19 Utah (2-1) in Saturday's championship game at 7 p.m. The Utes were an 84-55 victor over Western Kentucky in the other opening round game on Friday afternoon. Fresno State is bidding for a third straight title in the Fresno State Classic.
The consolation contest between Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Monroe is slated for 5 p.m.
