Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Open WAC Tournament Wednesday Against Hawai'i
3/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 10, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
FRESNO, Calif.- For the second-straight year the Fresno State women's basketball team is the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament. Fresno State and Louisiana Tech finished the regular season tied for first place with a 12-4 conference mark but the Bulldogs earned the tiebreaker with the sweep of third place Nevada while the Lady Techsters split with the Wolf Pack.
Fresno State opens WAC play on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. against Hawai'i. The Rainbow Wahine defeated San Jose State in the play-in game. All games during the WAC Tournament can be heard live on 790 ESPN Radio, the Deuce.
Recapping the 2008 WAC Tournament
The Bulldogs cruised through last years tournament at New Mexico State, beating San Jose State, 87-76, Louisiana Tech, 85-58 and New Mexico State, 72-56. The Bulldogs tied a WAC tournament record for 3-pointers made in the tournament with 27. The record is also held by TCU who hit 27 in 2001. In the semifinal win over Louisiana Tech the Bulldogs set a WAC tournament game record for most 3-pointers made and attempted as they went 13-for 33.
Last Years Freshmen Class Leads `Dogs at 2008 WAC Tourney
Last years freshmen class of Hayley Munro, Emma Andrews, Jaleesa Ross, Marnique Arnold and Taja Edwards combined to score an average of 50.6 points a game. Against Louisiana Tech in the semi-final game the Bulldog freshmen outscored the Lady Techsters 64-58. In the quarterfinal game against San Jose State, they combined to score 54 points and against New Mexico State in the championship game they combined for 34 points. Jaleesa Ross was named the WAC Tournament MVP.
20 Wins
The Bulldogs win against New Mexico State gave the program their ninth 20 win season in the 44-year history. Since Adrian Wiggins has been the head coach, the Bulldogs have won 20 games or more in three of the last four years. The school record for most wins in a season is 24 by the 2005-06 team.
Bulldogs Set 3-Point Record/Lead Nation in 3-pointers Made
For the second straight year Fresno State set a new school record for 3-pointers made and attempted in a single season. Last year Fresno State was 262-for-762, good for 34 percent. Against New Mexico State, on March 4, the Bulldogs set the new record by going 12-for-25 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs have now hit 278-for-790 from long range, good for 35 percent. Fresno State has led the nation in 3-pointers made per game all season. They are currently making 9.6 a contest.
Greater Than 10
The Bulldogs have hit 10 3-pointers or more in 29 games dating back to last year and they are 23-6 during that stretch. This year the `Dogs hit a school and WAC record 16 against TCU.
Seniors Go Out in Style
The final home game for seniors Bailey Amundsen, LaToya Brown and LaShaunte Stephens was a memorable one. Amundsen scored 19 points and grabbed a game- high eight rebounds in the 17-point win over New Mexico State on March 4. Brown made her second career start and had six points and four assists. Stephens has missed the season due to a season-ending knee injury.
Rare Home Conference Losses
For the first time since 2005, the Fresno State women's basketball team lost two home conference games in the same season.
Winning Big
Fresno State's last 17 wins have been by an average of 18.7 points a game. The Bulldogs three wins by under 10 points were against No. 22 TCU (75-71), Utah State (68-59). and Nevada (63-60). The Bulldogs are beating teams by an average margin of 9.2 points a game on the season.
Hard Work Pays Off
Fresno State walk on Kaitlin Kaufmann has been practicing with the team since January. After working hard in practice, coach Adrian Wiggins allowed her to dress for the final four games of WAC play. Kaufmann is a 5-8 junior from Sanger, Calif., who played junior college basketball at Reedley. She graduated from Clovis East High School in 2006. She appeared in games against New Mexico State andNevada and at Utah State. She is expected to make the trip to Reno for the WAC Tournament.
Hot Start
Fresno State's 21-8 start is the programs second-best start in school history through 29 games. The 2005-06 and the the 1986-87 team went 22-7 while the 1985-86 team went 21-8.
"Join the State - Fresno State"- Follow the Bulldogs at the 2009 WAC Tournament by logging onto gobulldogs.com
