Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Host Oklahoma State On Saturday Night
11/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2004
Click Here To Print 2-For-1 Coupon For Nov. 27 vs. Oklahoma State!
Oklahoma State Cowgirls (1-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0 WAC)
Date: Sat., Nov. 27
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Fresno, Calif.
Facility (capacity): Save Mart Center (16,116)
Series History: Oklahoma State leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Oklahoma State 67, Fresno State 60 (Dec. 6, 2004)
Radio: ESPN 1430 AM (play-by-play: Paul Swearengin)
TV: Comcast Cable (ch. 14)- tape delayed
Tip-Off
Fresno State (2-0, 0-0 WAC) shoots for its first 3-0 start since the 2001-02 campaign on Saturday night when it hosts Oklahoma State (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs have had little trouble handing opponents from the West Coast Conference, defeating Pepperdine and Santa Clara in their first two games to open the year. Fresno State has won four of its last six home games overall dating back to last year, while Oklahoma State will be playing its first contest away from Stillwater when it arrives in Fresno this weekend.
Media Memo
Saturday's game against Oklahoma State can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1430 AM, with Paul Swearengin handling the play-by-play duties. The contest will also be televised tape-delayed on Comcast Cable (ch. 14), the first of six telecasts to air on the network this season. Live game statistics are also available on Fresno State's official athletics website, www.gobulldogs.com.
Two-For-One Admission Against Oklahoma State
A two-for-one game coupon for the Nov. 27 game against Oklahoma State game is now available online at www.gobulldogs.com. Fans can redeem the coupon for one free general admission ticket with the purchase of a ticket of equal or greater value. Offer is good on day of game only. Coupons must be redeemed at the Save Mart Center.
Scouting Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) makes its first appearance in Fresno when it faces Fresno State on Saturday night. The Cowgirls dropped a 60-56 decision to New Mexico at home in their most recent game on Tuesday night. Taleesha Conder scored 18 points to lead Oklahoma State, which committed 27 turnovers and shot 43.5-percent overall. In its only other game this year, Oklahoma State cruised past Nicholls State 83-49 in the season opener. Nina Stone was 9-14 from the field with six three-pointers as she led all scorers with 25 points in the win. The Cowgirls, who received 13 points from Eliz Gomes and 11 points from Taleesha Conder, held a 42-27 rebounding edge and shot 55-percent overall from the field. Oklahoma State wrapped up last season at 8-20 overall and 3-13 in conference play, finishing 10th. Seven of Oklahoma State's first 10 games will be played in Stillwater. Head coach Julie Goodenough enters her third year.
Fresno State All-Time vs. Oklahoma State
There is not as much history here, as the schools have met only twice. Both games resulted in Oklahoma State victories. The two teams faced off last December in the championship game of the Cowgirl Classic, with the Cowgirls claiming a 67-60 triumph. The only other matchup came back on Dec. 31, 1993 with Oklahoma State winning 77-46. This will be Oklahoma State's first trip to Fresno.
Recapping This Week's Action:
Fresno State 76, Santa Clara 71 (Nov. 22)
Amy Parrish led all scorers with a career-high 24 points in Fresno State's 76-71 non-conference victory over Santa Clara at the Leavey Center. Fresno State also received 15 points from Faith Probst, 10 of which came in the second half. The Bulldogs shot 45.2-percent for the game overall and outrebounded the Broncos 49-29. The Bulldogs survived a three-point onslaught from the Broncos, who nailed 12 of 30 three-pointers. Quinn Thomas led Santa Clara with 20 points. Santa Clara's last lead of the game came at 13-12 with 11:51 left in the first half, as Fresno State never trailed after that point. Parrish carried the Bulldogs in the first half, scoring 16 points on 7-11 shooting from the field with almost all of her points coming in the paint. She scored six of the Bulldog's final eight points of the half after Santa Clara had cut the lead to three. The Bulldogs began the second half with a 10-3 scoring run, stretching their lead to 48-35 following a lay-up from Mirenda Swearengin for their largest advantage of the game.
Road Warriors
After Monday's 76-71 triumph at Santa Clara, the Bulldogs have now won four straight road games, dating back to last season when the team won its final three away from Fresno. Included in the Bulldog's four-game winning streak was the team's first two-game conference road trip sweep since 1997 with wins at San Jose State on Mar. 4 (72-60) and Hawai'i on Mar. 6 (63-54) to end the 2004 regular season. Fresno State has not lost a road game since a 45-38 loss to UTEP in El Paso on Feb. 12, 2004.
Making A State-Ment
Under head coach Stacy Johnson-Klein, the Bulldogs have performed exceptionally well against California schools, notching a 14-2 mark. Quite a turnaround, considering the Bulldogs were just 9-14 against teams from the Golden State over the combined three previous seasons (1999-2002). The Bulldogs were 5-1 last year, defeating Long Beach State, Santa Clara, Cal State Fullerton and San Jose State twice. Fresno State is 2-0 in such games already this season and will play four more games against California schools: San Diego (Dec. 5), UCLA (Dec. 11) and San Jose State (Jan. 1 and Mar. 3).
Gimme Five!
One of the trademarks of head coach Stacy Johnson-Klein's offense since her arrival at Fresno State has been her unique substitution method. Johnson-Klein often employs a "five-for-five" rotation, where she works with two separate lineups and alternates among them based on productivity. The strategy worked well in last week's victory over Pepperdine, as the Bulldogs were able to wear down the Waves. The five-for-five strategy was used in almost every game during the 2002-03 season, when Fresno State finished 21-13 during Johnson-Klein's first year.
Singles Club
Fresno State's defense turned out to a be a key factor in a 58-38 victory over Pepperdine on Nov. 19, as not one Wave player scored in double-figures. Kelsey Ball's eight points led Pepperdine. That marked the first time since Nov. 30, 1999 that a Fresno State opponent did not have at least one player scoring in double-figures. The Bulldogs defeated Sacramento State 70-44 on that day.
Winning The Turnover Battle
Turnovers plagued Fresno State much of last year. However, Fresno State did a good job of taking advantage of miscues in last week's win over Pepperdine. The Bulldogs forced 24 turnovers and committed only 16. Fresno State's most turnover-free game last season came against Hawai'i on Jan. 3, when the `Dogs made 13.
Quick Glance At The Schedule
Home games against regional powers Pepperdine and UCLA, three doubleheaders and a road trip to New York highlight Fresno State's 2004-05 schedule. The schedule features five games against 2004 postseason teams. UCLA and three-time defending WAC champion Louisiana Tech were NCAA Tournament participants last year, while Pepperdine and conference rivals Rice and Tulsa qualified for the WNIT. Fresno State is also scheduled to play two more doubleheaders at home this season: Dec. 11 vs. UCLA and Feb. 26 vs. Nevada.
Bulldogs Picked Sixth In WAC Preseason Poll
Fresno State was ranked sixth in the 2004-05 preseason women's basketball coaches poll, garnering 44 votes. Fresno State finished in a tie for sixth place in the WAC last season at 7-11, and checked in at 13-16 overall. Louisiana Tech, the three-time defending regular season and tournament champions, was picked to win the WAC after receiving eight first place votes and 80 points.
McEntire, Champagne Added To Coaching Staff
Head coach Stacy Johnson-Klein announced the hirings of Calamity McEntire and Drew Champagne as assistant coaches. McEntire, who spent two seasons as manager at the University of Tennessee, comes to Fresno State after working as an assistant manager for office and store operations for Kesslers Team Sports last year. Champagne spent last season with the Bulldogs as the team's head manager.
Bulldogs Reach New Heights In Attendance
Fresno State's inaugural season in the Save Mart Center produced several school attendance records, including a No. 19 national ranking in average home attendance and the third-largest yearly increase among all other Division 1 women's basketball programs. Add Fresno State's 58-38 season-opening win over Pepperdine on Nov. 19 to the list of attendance successes, as a school-record crowd of 7,042 witnessed the victory. Playing in the 16,116-seat Save Mart Center, Fresno State ranked No. 19 in the nation in average home attendance at 4,495 per game through 14 home dates. The Bulldogs, whose overall attendance total of 62,933 ranked 22nd in the country, had a higher average home attendance last year than traditional powerhouses Stanford, Georgia, LSU and Vanderbilt. Perhaps even more impressive, Fresno State's average crowd of 4,495 during the 2003-04 campaign represented an increase of 3,033 fans per game from the previous season- good enough for the third-best improvement nationally.
