Fresno State Athletics
Dogs Open Season Friday at Santa Clara
11/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2010
The Fresno State women's basketball team set a new standard of excellence last season and heads into the 2010-11 campaign looking for more. The Bulldogs will take their first steps in that direction with a pair of road games, beginning with Friday night's season-opener against Santa Clara at the Leavey Center. Fresno State then travels to Sacramento State for a Sunday afternoon contest. Fresno State enjoyed plenty of success away from the Save Mart Center last season, as the team went 11-3 on the road.
Fresno State in Season-Openers
Fresno State holds a 19-19 overall mark in season-openers since the 1971-72 season (records unavailable during the program's first six seasons). The Bulldogs have won five of their past six season-openers, including an 84-76 victory over UC Santa Barbara last year.
Recognition Coming Early
Fresno State has yet to crack the top 25, but it did receive votes in the recent USA Today/ESPN preseason coaches poll. The Bulldogs' landmark finish last season and their potential to do even more now makes them hard to ignore. Fresno State won a school-record 27 games during the 2009-10 season and recorded a program-best 19-game winning streak along the way. The team won its third consecutive WAC championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the third season in a row.
Bulldogs Picked To Win WAC, Again
Given the way the Bulldogs have performed in the WAC recently, perhaps it's no surprise they were selected to win the conference title again this year. Fresno State, winners of three consecutive WAC championships, collected seven of nine first-place votes in the recent coaches' preseason poll and 14 of 18 in the media poll. Fresno State, La Tech and Nevada were the top three-rated teams in both polls. Senior guard Jaleesa Ross was selected as the preseason player of the year.
Ross' Record Watch
Senior guard Jaleesa Ross, the Preseason WAC Player of the Year, heads into her final season with her sights set on a number of prestigious marks. One of the best 3-point shooters in the nation, Ross has made 287 3-pointers during her career and needs just eight more to tie former Stanford star Candice Wiggins and move into 25th place in NCAA history. Already Fresno State's leader in that category, Ross is 105 away from becoming the NCAA's all-time leader for 3-pointers made. Former Kansas State guard Laurie Koehn holds the current record with 392 treys. Ross made 103 last season.
Ross' Record Watch Part II
Jaleesa Ross is also threatening to become Fresno State's all-time leading scorer. She has already amassed 1,464 points in her career and is currently in fifth place on the Fresno State all-time scoring list. Ross needs 51 points to pass Shannon McGee's (1984-87) 1,515 points and move into fourth place. She needs 315 points to leap to the top of the list, surpassing Yvette Roberts.
Exhibition Recap
Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins got an early look at his team last weekend, as the Bulldogs beat Fresno Pacific 98-44 in an exhibition game at the Save Mart Center. Senior forward Hayley Munro led Fresno State with 20 points and seven rebounds. Jaleesa Ross (12 points), Bree Farley (11 points) and Taylor Thompson (11 points) also reached double figures. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Sunbirds 59-26.
Immediate Impact
This year's team features a handful of new faces, and the newcomers wasted little time making their presence felt. In last week's exhibition against Fresno Pacific, freshman forward Bree Farley came off the bench for 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. Taylor Thompson, a redshirt freshman, has inherited the starting point guard spot and showed a great deal of promise with an 11-point, five-rebound effort. She had just one turnover in 19 minutes of playing time. Veronica Wilson, a 6-3 transfer from Boston College, made an impact on both sides of the floor and finished with five points.
Scouting The Broncos
The Broncos return nine players from last year's 5-27 team, including senior forward Lena Gipson. A Hanford native, Gipson is one of Santa Clara's more prolific rebounders in program history. She averaged 12.6 points and10.0 rebounds last season and recorded 16 double-doubles along the way, No. 23 among all NCAA players. Gipson's rebounding average was the second-highest in the West Coast Conference. Fresno State leads the series against Santa Clara 20-14 and has won five of the past six games.
Scouting The Hornets
Sacramento State had five players score in double figures en route to a 119-54 victory over Cal Maritime in an exhibition game last week. Mallorie Franco scored 18 points in 18 minutes for the Hornets. Sacramento State returns seven players from a team that finished 15-15 last season, including senior forward Emily Christensen (14.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg). Fresno State has won eight in a row against the Hornets, including a 105-57 victory last season in Fresno.
