Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pacific
Dogs sneak past Pacific 66-64
12/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2010
STOCKTON, Calif-- - The 2010-11 season may still be in its infancy, but it has already presented the Fresno State women's basketball team with a wealth of challenges.
The Bulldogs ran into another fierce test Wednesday night. Despite holding a double-digit lead in the second half, Fresno State was forced to scratch and claw its way to a narrow 66-64 win over Pacific at the Alex G. Spanos Center. The Bulldogs have won three of their past four games heading into Saturday's home contest against TCU.
Senior guard Jaleesa Ross led Fresno State (5-2) with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting. The Bulldogs led 55-40 midway through the second half, but they were unable to put the Tigers (2-5) away. Pacific used an 18-8 run to make things interesting, and guard Kendall Rodriguez tossed up a runner with 56 seconds left to cut the Fresno State lead to 63-62.
Senior Hayley Munro gave the Bulldogs a touch of breathing room with a bucket in the paint on the other end with 35 seconds remaining. Pacific guard Jennifer Fath's 3-point attempt hit the rim, and senior Taja Edwards grabbed the rebound to help preserve the victory.
After hitting just two 3-pointers in the first half, the Bulldogs began to find their touch. Ross knocked down two quick 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 40-25 advantage. Point guard Taylor Thompson then drilled one from NBA range to maintain the advantage. Thompson finished with a season-high 13 points. She was 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
Ross, who averaged 7.0 points over the past three games, regained her offensive swagger, scoring on a drive to give Fresno State a 57-42 lead late in the second half.
Fresno State endured its share of struggles early, going just 2-for-10 from the floor. But the Bulldogs repeatedly gave themselves new life on the defensive end, as Thompson scored a layup for an 8-6 lead.
The Bulldogs forced 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game (17 in the first half), but fortunately for Pacific, they were unable to cash in on all of them. Indeed, Fresno State's offensive woes meant the two teams matched each other basket for basket for much of the first half.
Thompson drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to cap a 10-0 run and put Fresno State in front 24-14. But just when it seemed the Bulldogs were about to open the floodgates, the Tigers rent on a run of their own. Guard Jennifer Fath converted a layup to close the gap to 24-21 with 3:21 left in the half. Fresno State led 32-23 at the break, thanks to back-to-back buckets from Munro.
Coach Adrian Wiggins Postgame Quotes
"We just haven't really played 40 minutes of great basketball yet. That's what we need to practice on. I thought we got into situations where we stopped dictating on defense."
On losing the lead in the second half: "They made some adjustments offensively, and we had a hard time with that. They ran the floor harder than us. At the end, we missed too many free throws and layups. That would've solved a lot of our problems."
On the play of Taylor Thompson and Jaleesa Ross: "They definitely helped us in the scoring category tonight. I thought they were our better defenders tonight, too."
"We Are Your Team!" -- Fresno State's home game against TCU on Saturday is "Take a Kid to the Game Day" where kids 12-under get in free with a paid adult. The game will also serve as a toy drive for Toys 4 Tots. Bring in a toy and receive free admission. And be sure to stick around for a post-game autograph session!
