Fresno State Athletics
Women's Basketball Opens Season At UC Irvine Friday
11/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Nov. 16, 2005
Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0) at
UC Irvine Anteaters (0-0)
Date: Friday, Nov. 18
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Irvine, Calif.
Facility: Bren Events Center (5,000)
Series History: Fresno State leads 15-3
Last Meeting: FS 79, UCI 67 (Feb. 20, 1992 at FS)
Radio: none
Tip-Off
The 41st season of Fresno State women's basketball officially gets underway with the season opener on Friday, Nov. 18 at UC Irvine (0-0). The Bulldogs will be debuting on the road for the third time in four years. Two exhibition contests produced impressive offensive results, with the Bulldogs winning both games by 77 points combined. But now the real season begins, and Fresno State looks to be in good shape as three starters return from last year's 20-win squad. Road games will become all too familiar early on, with the Bulldogs playing four of their first five contests away from the Save Mart Center.
Looking Ahead
Fresno State's home opener is slated for Monday, Nov. 21, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at the Save Mart Center. The `Dogs are 22-12 all-time in home openers, including a 58-38 win over Pepperdine last year in front of a record crowd.
Scouting UC Irvine
UC Irvine (0-0) will also be playing its first game of the 2005-06 campaign when it hosts Fresno State this week. After hosting the Bulldogs on Friday and Loyola Marymount on Monday, UC Irvine hits the road for four straight road games and eight of the next 10. The Anteaters finished 8-21 overall last year and 6-12 in the Big West, good for a seventh-place tie in the standings. UC Irvine returns four starters from last year's squad and has been picked to finish fifth in both the Big West coaches and media polls. Junior Angie Ned returns after being named to the All-Big West second team. Ned led the Anteaters and was sixth in the league in scoring last year, averaging 16.1 points per game. UC Irvine is led by head coach Molly Tuter, who is in her second season at the helm.
Fresno State All-Time vs. UC Irvine
The all-time series has been lopsided, with Fresno State holding a 15-3 edge. These schools have not met since the 1992 campaign, when both were members of the Big West Conference. In fact, the Bulldogs have won 14 games in a row against the Anteaters, including a 79-67 victory in the most recent matchup back on Feb. 20, 1992. Fresno State is 7-2 in games played in Irvine.
Fresno State In Season Openers
Fresno State holds a 16-18 overall mark in season openers since the 1971-72 season (records unavailable during the program's first six seasons). Prior to 2004, Fresno State had not won a season opener since Nov. 17, 2001 (Delaware State, 71-49). However, the Bulldogs defeated Pepperdine 58-38 in front of a school-record 7,042 fans at the Save Mart Center in last year's lid-lifter. Fresno State is also debuting on the road for the third time in the last four years.
Coaches, Media Agree: Bulldogs Picked To Finish Second In 2005-06
Fresno State has been picked to finish second by the coaches and media in the 2005-06 preseason WAC polls. Louisiana Tech, the four-time defending regular-season champions, was the consensus choice to win the WAC in both polls. The Bulldogs also placed seniors Amy Parrish and Mirenda Swearengin on the preseason All-WAC team as both earned second-team honors.
We've Got A New Look
Adrian Wiggins begins his first season as head coach on an interim basis and fourth overall with the program. Assistants Calamity McEntire and Drew Champagne are back for a second season while Brett Frank, who served as an assistant coach from 2002-04, returns as the lead assistant.
Quick Look Back
Fresno State finished 20-11 last year, representing a six-game improvement from the previous season's mark of 13-16. The Bulldogs also finished fourth in WAC play at 10-8, reached the semifinals of the conference tournament and made their second postseason WNIT appearance in three years. Not bad for a squad that posted a 3-5 record in January, went winless at home for almost two months and experienced a coaching change in late February.
Making A State-Ment
Since the start of the 2002-03 season, the Bulldogs have performed very well against California schools, notching a 17-3 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 Pepperdine, Santa Clara, San Diego and San Jose State twice.
Guard Position Features Depth, Experience
Fresno State will play at an up-tempo pace and rely on its speed and athleticism to get easy transition buckets. The Bulldogs must first offset the losses of Mirenda Swearengin and Tierre Wilson, who proved to be offensive catalysts at the guard position in 2004-05. Both will miss the fall semester due to academic reasons. Chantella Perera will once again be looked at to elevate her game while Jasmine Plummer appears a lock for a starting job.
Post Players Provide Additional Scoring
Fresno State's post scoring and defense is highlighted by Amy Parrish, a first-team All-WAC selection last year. The loss of Aritta Lane to graduation means that one of the forward spots will be open. One possibility is Brittani Green, who has all the tools needed to become a standout player. Faith Probst is the squad's only four-year player and figures to provide depth. Andrea Roberson also could start.
Quick Glance At The Schedule
In addition to competing in the new-look Western Athletic Conference, Fresno State will face six schools that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs, who in the last three seasons have squared off against the likes of Michigan State, Baylor, Utah and UCLA, will play a strong non-conference schedule once again. Five of Fresno State's 12 non-league games are against 2005 NCAA Tournament schools (Stanford, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Arizona and Santa Clara) while the Bulldogs resume their usual home-and-home series with four-time defending WAC champion Louisiana Tech.
All-WAC Accolades
Amy Parrish was named first team All-WAC, becoming the first Fresno State player to earn All-WAC first team honors since Lindsay Logan accomplished the feat during the 2000-01 campaign. Parrish led the Bulldogs in scoring with 13.5 ppg and rebounding with 6.9 rpg. She scored in double-figures 24 times and recorded four double-doubles. In addition, Mirenda Swearengin was named to the 2005 WAC All-Tournament team, as she averaged 21.0 ppg, pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists. She was third on the club in scoring (10.5) and rebounding (5.1) per game and led the team in assists (4.1 per game) and three-pointers (41).
Six Bulldogs Named Academic All-WAC
Toni Atherley, Erica Henry, Cophie Moore, Faith Probst, Chantella Perera and Kendra Walker-Roche were named to the 2004-05 academic All-WAC team. Atherley, Henry and Walker-Roche were first-time honorees.
Score at the Half
Not sure how the Bulldogs would fare against an opponent? Enjoy the first 20 minutes then glance at the scoreboard at halftime. In 2004-05, the `Dogs were 20-3 when either leading or tied at the half and 0-8 when trailing.
Winning Big With Wiggins
The Bulldogs posted a 7-4 overall record under the direction of Interim head coach Adrian Wiggins, who was appointed to the position on Feb. 9. In those 11 games, Fresno State tallied some impressive wins. Of the seven victories under Wiggins, six were by margins of at least 15 points. The seventh was a nine-point, 73-64 win over San Jose State. Fresno State also went 6-0 in games played at the Save Mart Center under Wiggins' guidance.
Press Wreaking Havoc For Opponents
A swarming, quick pressure defense yielded favorable results for Fresno State. The Bulldogs forced 20.8 turnovers per game, with most of those coming as a result of timely steals and opportunistic defense. A perfect example of Fresno State's defensive pressure occurred against Utah Valley State on Feb. 23, with the Wolverines making 31 turnovers as the Bulldogs racked up a season-best 21 steals. Fresno State forced its opponents to commit at least 20 turnovers on 19 different occasions last year.
Winning The Rebound Battle
Fresno State outrebounded its opponents by an average of 40.9 to 35.3 per game, a margin of +5.6 that led the WAC. The Bulldogs outrebounded their opponents 22 times this year and were 15-7 in such situations. Fresno State tallied at least 40 rebounds on 19 different occasions and recorded a season-best 55 against San Diego on Dec. 5. Three players averaged at least five boards: Amy Parrish at 6.9, Aritta Lane at 5.8 and Mirenda Swearengin at 5.1.
Road Warriors
A 68-64 loss at UTEP on Jan. 15 was Fresno State's first of the season, as the Bulldogs entered the game tied with the University of Richmond for the best road record in the nation at 7-0. The defeat also snapped Fresno State's 10-game winning streak (dating back to last year), which at the time was the longest active road winning streak in Division 1 women's basketball.
