Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
14-6, 5-2
San Jose State
2-18, 1-6
Bulldog Defense Stifles Spartans
1/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's basketball team held San Jose State to 28 percent shooting from the field and cruised to a 73-44 victory on Friday in front of a season high crowd of 3,111 fans at the Save Mart Center. Fresno State is now in second place in the WAC at 5-2 and 14-6 overall while the Spartans fell to 2-18 and 1-6 in conference.
"I was very proud of our effort," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "I felt like we had a great week in practice. We were very intense. We moved very well and it carried over into the game. We really attacked San Jose aggressively and finished. We had a lot of great shot opportunities tonight that kept our offense going. Our transition was really fast tonight. We did a great job of going from a defensive rebound to an offensive shot."
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Hayley Munro's 22 points in only 20 minutes. Jaleesa Ross had 15 points, four assists and two steals while Bailey Amundsen had 12 points and six rebounds.
As a team, Fresno State shot 44 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line (8-18). The Bulldogs also out rebounded the Spartans 43-34. Marnique Arnold had a team-high eight while Joh-Teena Filipe had seven boards.
The Bulldogs forced the San Jose State offense into 21 turnovers while they hit only 16 of 57 field attempts.
"We had great ball pressure," Wiggins said. "What was even more impressive was when they dribbled to the basket, we jumped to help. Five people playing together like that is hard to deal with."
After San Jose State scored the opening basket, the Bulldogs never trailed. Fresno State quickly jumped out to a 12-2 lead eight minutes into the game and then with 9:41 to play until halftime the Bulldogs built a 21-4 lead after a layup by Munro.
Fresno State's biggest first half lead was the halftime score of 38-14. The Bulldogs led by as many as 35 points in the game three different times in the second half. The `Dogs led 71-36 with 3:43 to play in the contest.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs host Utah State on Sunday, February 1 at the Save Mart Center at 2:00 pm. It's National Girls and Women in Sports Day and Girl Scout Day. All members of the Girl Scouts Golden Valley Council can purchase tickets for $3 with $1 from every ticket sold going back to the Girl Scouts. Tickets are on sale now through the Save Mart Center box office, by calling (559) 485-TIXS or online at ticketmaster.com.
