Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UC Irvine
Bulldogs Fight Past UC Irvine
12/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's basketball team is becoming very battled tested on the road. The Bulldogs fought past a scrappy UC Irvine team to win 63-60 on Thursday evening at the Bren Center. The Bulldogs are 4-3 and UC Irvine fell to 1-6.|
"We have played a lot of games on the road and we are learning it is always a tough challenge," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "We were really mentally tough tonight. I felt like our leadership carried us through. That is what you want to see with a team with this much experience."
The Bulldogs had three players in double figures led by Hayley Munro's 19 points in 20 minutes off the bench. "She took good shots and made some big shots for us at crucial times," Wiggins said. "The reality is that this team is so good about hitting the open person. Hayley was the open person a lot tonight. Therefore she had a lot of great looks and scored." Jaleesa Ross had 17 points and Marnique Arnold had 10 points and six rebounds.
Fresno State shot only 29 percent from the field while UC Irvine shot 45 percent. The Bulldogs did force 20 turnovers and UCI hit on 13-for-26 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs out rebounded Irvine 42-37. Ross led the way with nine rebounds and Rosie Moult had eight boards.
"I was most pleased with the team camaraderie," Wiggins said. "The players really played hard for their team tonight and they came away with the victory. I thought they deserved it. The good news is that we can play a whole lot better."
The outcome was decided in the final seconds of the game and the Bulldogs pulled out the victory thanks to missed free throws by UC Irvine in the final 12 seconds.
The Bulldogs clung to a 61-58 lead with under 20 seconds left in the game. Then with 12 seconds Rebecca Maessen was fouled behind the 3-point line but she only hit 1-of-3 free throw attempts. With the Bulldogs leading 61-59, Irvine's Mary Has was fouled with 2.6 seconds left. She hit her first free throw but missed the second.
Ross then got the rebound and hit her two free throws with .5 seconds left to seal the Bulldog victory. For the game there were six ties and seven lead changes. The final tie came when the score was tied at 55 with 3:49 to play. Munro would then hit a 3-pointer with 1:47 left to give the Dogs a 58-55 lead.
The Bulldogs return to the court on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they play at Loyola Marymount.
"We Are Your Team"- The Fresno State women's basketball team returns to the Save Mart Center on December 8 when it plays host to Sacramento State. For ticket information click on the tickets link at the top of the page.
