Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
10-4, 1-0
Boise State
8-8, 1-1
Bulldogs Fight Way Past Boise State
1/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - On a night when the shooting was off, the Fresno State women's basketball team still found a way to pull out a 62-52 victory over Boise State in the WAC opener on Monday evening at the Save Mart Center.
"Boise really played a good game technique wise and they tried to get out and over extend," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "That might have attributed us to not finding a good rhythm. The reality is we feel like we didn't play real well and we still won by 10 points. You have to take a lot of hope in that. We learned as the game went on and we passed the ball better as the game went on."
The win upped Fresno State's record to 10-4 and it is the fifth straight year the Bulldogs have won their conference opener. The 10-4 record ties the school record for the fifth best start in school history through 14 games.
Boise State dropped to 8-8 and 1-1 in league play.
Bailey Amundsen, who was named the WAC Player of the Week just before the game, led Fresno State with 17 points while Hayley Munro had 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
"They made some big plays for us," Wiggins said on the play of Munro and Amundsen. "I thought Hayley really rebounded well tonight. She was very active and gave us a lot of energy. Bailey hit some really big shots when we needed them."
The Bulldogs shot 33 percent from the field but their strong defense kept the Broncos in check as they were forced to 28 percent shooting from the field.
Fresno State out rebounded Boise State, 48-43. Jaleesa Ross had 11 rebounds while Marnique Arnold had eight boards to go with Munro's 13.
Fresno State jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game and later led 12-4 after Taja Edwards converted a three-point play with 14:07 to play in the first half. Boise State then cut the Bulldog lead to 13-10 four minutes later. The Bulldogs led 26-19 with 3:41 to play until the break when Boise State scored the final six points to cut the `Dogs lead to 26-25 at halftime.
Boise State led 36-32 four minutes into the second half. Fresno State then went on an 11-0 run to lead 43-36 after 3-pointers by Munro and Joh-Teena Filipe and layups by Fears and Filipe.
Fresno State's biggest lead of the game was 12 at 53-41 with 8:41 to play thanks to a Munro layup. Boise State cut its deficit to four at 53-49 three minutes later but that would be the closest the Broncos came.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs continue home play at the Save Mart Center on Thursday, January 8 as they battle Hawai'i at 7:00 pm. It's Thursday Night at the Save Mart Center and all Fresno State and Fresno Unified School District faculty and staff can receive $2 tickets with presentation of their ID (limit 4 tickets) at the Save Mart Center box office. Tickets are on sale now through the Save Mart Center box office, by calling (559) 485-TIXS or online at ticketmaster.com.
