Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
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Women's Hoops Defeats Hawai'i In WAC Opener, 70-48
12/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2004
HONOLULU- Fresno State shook off a sluggish first half and placed three players in double-figures during a 70-48 road victory over Hawai'i on Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center in the WAC opener for both squads.The Bulldogs (9-1, 1-0 WAC) outscored the Rainbow Wahine (4-4, 0-1 WAC) 41-26 in the second half, leading comfortably by double-digits for much of the period.
Mirenda Swearengin led all scorers with 14 points, while Amy Parrish nearly recorded a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Aritta Lane, playing in front of family and friends, added 12 points on 5-7 shooting.
Milia Macfarlane led Hawai'i with nine points, marking the second time this season Fresno State has held an opponent without a double-digit scorer. The Bulldogs held Pepperdine without a double-digit scorer in the season opener on Nov. 19.
Fresno State registered a commanding 47-32 edge in rebounds and shot 42.6-percent overall. The Bulldogs made 7-19 from beyond the arc while the Rainbow Wahine connected on 3-14.
Shooting woes plagued the Bulldogs early on, as Fresno State missed 17 of its first 19 shot attempts from the field before Lane evened the score at 6-6 with a put-back at the 12:15 mark.
Janevia Taylor's short jumper gave Hawai'i its largest lead of the first half at 16-10 with just under 10 minutes remaining. The Rainbow Wahine remained in control until the Bulldogs received four straight points from Mirenda Swearengin, whose two free throws put the Bulldogs back in front at 19-18 with 5:12 on the clock.
Fresno State wrapped up the first period on a 10-4 scoring stretch that spanned the final five minutes, resulting in a 29-22 halftime lead. Parrish tallied six points and seven boards in the first half to lead the `Dogs, while Lane added seven points.
The Bulldogs scored the first four points to open the second half, with Lane's lay-up stretching the lead to double-digits for the first time at 33-22. The two clubs would go on to trade baskets until three consecutive points from Lane put the `Dogs up 38-26.
Back-to-back triples from Swearengin extended Fresno State's lead to 16 points at 46-30, giving the Bulldogs their biggest cushion of the night.
Hawai'i briefly cut the lead to single-digits at 48-39, only to see Fresno State respond with a 9-0 scoring burst that included five points from Faith Probst.
Toni Atherley's three-pointer at the 4:10 mark gave Fresno State a 21-point edge at 62-43. For Atherley, the basket was her first since she scored on a jumper against Oklahoma State back on Nov. 27.
Fresno State concludes its road trip with a game at San Jose State on New Year's Day. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Event Center.
FRESNO STATE-HAWAI'I GAME NOTES:
- Paige Diggs did not play due to flu-like symptoms. She is expected to return on Saturday against San Jose State.
- Aritta Lane, a native of Aiea, Hawaii, celebrated her 21st birthday on Tuesday with family and friends.
- The Bulldogs have now won eight straight road games, dating back to last season when the team won its final three away from Fresno. In fact, Fresno State's last road loss came in a 45-38 defeat to UTEP in El Paso on Feb. 12, 2004.
- Fresno State is 8-0 when leading at the half and 6-0 when outrebounding its opponent.
- Faith Probst is perfect from the free throw line this year, hitting at a 15-15 clip.
- Hawai'i head coach Jim Bolla is in his first season after replacing legendary skipper Vince Goo, who retired last year after amassing a 334-166 record during his tenure on the island.
- Temperatures during the early part of the week hovered around the 80-degree mark, a sharp contrast to the team's final day of the New York road trip when the thermometer peaked at 19-degrees.
