Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
<li> Rice
Women's Basketball Falls Short Against Rice, 59-54
3/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 8, 2003
HOUSTON- Fresno State came up short in its attempt for a sixth straight victory, falling to Rice 59-54 on Saturday evening in the final game of the regular season for both teams.
The Bulldogs (17-1, 11-7 WAC) finish the conference season in third place in the WAC standings, matching the school's best league finish from 1985-86 at 8-4 in the NorPac. Fresno State, which was picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches poll, has won eight of its last 10 after posting a 9-20 overall mark just one season ago.
Rice (15-12, 12-6 WAC) earns the second seed in next weekend's WAC Tournament in Tulsa, Okla., with the win, while Fresno State will be seeded third with the opponent yet to be determined.
The 'Dogs received a dominating effort from senior Omelogo Udeze (Los Angeles, Calif.), who set a career-high with 28 points and also tallied 13 boards for her ninth double-double of the year. Lindsay Logan (Sandy, Utah) was the next-highest scorer with nine.
The Lady Owls scored 10 of the game's final 15 points to secure the win, which avenged a 77-70 loss to the Bulldogs back on Jan. 2 in the conference opener. Johnetta Hayes and Kim Lawson each poured in 12 points for Rice.
Fresno State outrebounded Rice 47-26, yet committed 26 turnovers which resulted in 27 points for the Lady Owls. The Bulldogs shot just 35.1-percent overall.
It was a sluggish start for the Bulldogs, who missed their first seven shots of the game before senior Laura Garcia (Fresno, Calif.) nailed a three-pointer to cut the Rice lead to 5-4.
The cold shooting would continue for both teams, as Rice held just a 12-11 advantage midway through the first half of play. At that point, the Lady Owls were shooting 33.3-percent compared to the Bulldog's 30.8 mark.
Rice extended its lead to 17-13 with 8:50 to play after a triple from Liggett, but Fresno State evened the game at 17-17 after two free throws from Udeze. The 'Dogs would get within one on two occasions down the stretch, but the Lady Owls ended the half on a 13-8 run to take a 30-25 lead into halftime.
The Fresno State offense relied heavily on Udeze from the outset, as the senior forward tallied 12 points on 4-9 shooting in the first period alone.
Rice began the second half with scores on two of its first three possessions to extend its lead to six, but the Bulldogs countered with a 10-2 run. The scoring stretch ended with a lay-up from Logan, who gave Fresno State its first lead of the contest at 37-35 with 15:34 remaining.
Udeze stretched the Bulldogs' edge to 45-41 after connecting on a jumper, but Rice responded with a 10-4 run that saw the Lady Owls eventually reclaim the lead at 51-49 with 5:22 left to play after two free throws from Michelle Woods.
The Lady Owls went up 57-52 after a bucket by Lawson, only to have Fresno State's Veronica Mack (Phoenix, Ariz.) connect on two free throws to bring the 'Dogs back within three.
Trailing 57-54, Fresno State had the ball and a chance to tie with 21.2 seconds remaining but failed to convert. Mack's three-point try was off the mark and Udeze couldn't get a clean chance at a put-back.
Fresno State now sets it focus on the WAC Tournament, which gets underway Tuesday, Mar. 11 in Tulsa, Okla.
