Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UNLV
Bulldogs Down UNLV, 63-45
12/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's basketball team won its fifth straight game and improved to 7-3 after beating UNLV 63-45 on Saturday afternoon at the Save Mart Center. UNLV dropped to 4-5. The Bulldogs have won the last five meetings against UNLV.
Fresno State hit 14 3-pointers in the game, 10 coming in the first half to help propel the Bulldogs to the victory. Jaleesa Ross scored 16 points and hit four 3-pointers while Joh-Teena Filipe had 14 points on four 3's.
"I was very pleased with our ability to play and learn as the game went on," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "I thought we did a good job of adjusting on the court. We rotated well and blocked out well. It stopped a lot of problems before they started. We shared the ball well on offense. They gave us a lot of open looks early on because they were collapsing in the paint. That led to a lot of 3-point shots. I felt like we did a good job of handling that."
Rosie Moult, Hayley Munro and Marnique Arnold each had six rebounds and the Dogs out rebounded the lady Rebels 37-32. Fresno State had 17 assists and forced 20 UNLV turnovers.
The first 10 minutes of the first half were close as UNLV led 16-12 with 10:49 remaining until the break. Fresno State then went on an 11-4 run to take the lead for good at 23-20 with 4:57 left following a 3-pointer by Ross. The lead stretched to 31-21 with 2:51 left after a layup by Munro and she later hit a 3-pointer with 1:21 to give the Dogs a 34-23 halftime lead.
Ten of the Bulldogs 12 field goals in the first half were 3-pointers thanks to Filipe and Ross each making three.
"I told them not to feel guilty," Wiggins said on his teams' 3-point shooting. "It is why we brought them here. It is what we do. As long as we rebound hard and cover we will shoot threes and take the ball to the basket. We just want to take what they gave us."
The Fresno State lead grew in the second half thanks to stifling defense that didn't allow the Rebels to score their first basket points until the 15:20 mark of the period. The Bulldogs led by 21 at 48-27 with 10:43 to play and they led by as many as 27 at 58-31 with 6:13 remaining in the game.
"In the second half they stuck to our shooters more so it gave us more driving opportunities," Wiggins said.
"We Are Your Team"- The Bulldogs return to the floor next Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest at West Virginia from the Big East Conference. The game can be hard live on 790 ESPN Radio, the Deuce.
