Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
3-0
UC Irvine
1-3
Bulldogs Pound Out 81-51 Win Over UC Irvine
11/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2006
Fresno, Calif. - Using tough pressure on transition and terrific low-post play, Fresno State opened up a big lead a cruised to an 81-50 win over UC Irvine on Tuesday. Senior Jenny Thigpin led the Bulldogs with 15 points and 9 rebounds, and Andrea Roberson and Erica Henry added 13 and 11 points off of the bench respectively. With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 3-0 overall.
Fresno State wasted no time in working their game plan Tuesday against UC Irvine, scoring on a back door cut from Tierre Wilson to open the game and using two quick buckets off of the block to open up to a 7-0 lead to start the game. The Anteaters would cut the lead to 7-4, but Fresno State would open up another gap at 15-8 before making an extended run. Using their pressure defense, the Bulldogs forced turnovers and converted in transition to open up a 27-12 lead after a 12-2 run. The Bulldogs continued to extend their lead and ended the half up 40-19, and extended the lead by ten points in the second half using mostly bench personnel.
"I felt like we came out with a really good effort tonight," said head coach Adrian Wiggins. "When we got ahead, we relaxed a little, but I thought we shared the ball well overall throughout the night."
The Bulldogs moved their way out to a large lead in a different way, enduring a cold night from two of their hottest shooters. Chantella Perera, the team's leading scorer entering the game averaging 22 points per game, only scored six points, all from the line, and fellow guard Tierre Wilson ended the game with 10.
However, their presence wasn't required on a night when the inside play of the Bulldogs took center stage. Senior center Jenny Thigpin led the Bulldogs with 15 points, and fellow low-post players Brittani Green, Erica Henry, and Andrea Roberson all scored in double-digits as Fresno State eschewed their outside shooting in favor of points in the paint and in transition. In all, the Bulldogs scored 32 points in the paint and 30 off of turnovers along with out-rebounding the smaller Anteaters 58-32.
Defensively, Fresno State held the edge as well, holding UC Irvine to 26.5% shooting from the field and 1-9 from three, with the Anteaters making their only triple of the game with 7:25 remaining in the second half.
Thanks to the early lead, the Bulldogs used their entire available roster on the night, including extended time for some players that had seen limited minutes up to this point in the season. Freshman Brittny Jones, the one true point guard on the roster, entered the game for the first time at the 13:50 minute in the first half, and spent 15 minutes on the floor running the offense. Junior guard Kendra Walker-Roche scored 8 points off of the bench in 11 minutes in her second game of the season, and freshman walk-on Maya Rendulic saw the first time of her career, scoring two points as the ballgame wound down.
"It was nice to get some of the younger players in and get a good look at them," said Wiggins. "This was a good win, and one that we built a lead with a larger number of players than we usually do."
The Bulldogs will take to the road for their next two games, taking the holiday off before heading to Oklahoma, where the `Dogs face the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State on Sunday. The team then returns to California, where they'll play another Big West opponent in Cal State Fullerton Tuesday before heading back to Fresno.
