Fresno State Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Surprising San Jose State
1/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Check out the latest edition of
"Ren's Court Report"
Complete Release in PDF Format
Jan. 4, 2004
FRESNO, Calif.- Winning the close games. Playing sound, tough-minded defense. A senior class that has stepped up its play.
All three are traits that describe San Jose State, this year's early candidate for the biggest surprise among teams in the WAC. The Spartans currently stand at 9-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play and have been a mirror image of last year's Fresno State team, quietly winning games and setting new program records in the process.
Against Nevada in its WAC opener on Saturday, San Jose State came away with a 70-63 win on the road. Not the most impressive win, but the Spartans hung on nonetheless to continue their eight-game winning streak. With that victory, San Jose State is off to its best 10-game start in school history.
That, along with a long-standing rivalry with Fresno State, is enough to add some intrigue to Monday night's contest when the Bulldogs host the Spartans at 7 p.m. in the final game of three-game homestand at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State enters tomorrow night's game at 6-5 overall, looking to get back on track after dropping its WAC opener to Hawai'i on Saturday afternoon by a 48-46 count.
History would seem to favor the Bulldogs on two fronts. For starters, Fresno State, which owns a 33-17 edge in the all-time series, went 2-1 against San Jose State last year, including a 63-57 triumph in the opening round of the WAC Tournament in Tulsa, Okla.
In addition, Fresno State can point to a 4-0 record in games following a loss this year, which has helped the Bulldogs stay above .500 and avoid lengthy losing streaks. Under head coach Stacy Johnson-Klein, Fresno State is 12-3 in games following a defeat.
The Bulldogs will look to get junior forward Aritta Lane back on track. Lane, who has led the club in scoring all season, has not scored in double-figures since a Dec. 13 win over Santa Clara. Playing the Spartans might help though, as Lane is shooting .526 (20-38) from the field and has pulled down 36 rebounds in five career games against San Jose State.
Seniors Chanie Sutherland and Mindy Clark are coming off career-setting games, as both notched personal bests against Hawai'i on Saturday. Sutherland erupted for 14 points (12 coming off three-pointers) and Clark grabbed 14 rebounds while recording her second double-double.
San Jose State centers its offense around three seniors: Tatiana Taylor (15.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .523 field goal percentage), Cricket Williams (12.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 86 assists, 29 steals) and Teoma Taylor (10.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg).
Heading into Saturday's game at Nevada, the Spartans were shooting 48.1-percent from the field while holding their opponents to a 33.5-percent clip. San Jose State is also outrebounding its opponents by a 39.3-33.7 margin.
Later in the week, Fresno State continues WAC play with road games against SMU (Thu., Jan. 8) and Louisiana Tech (Sat., Jan. 10).
