Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
11-5 (2-0WAC)
Idaho
8-6 (1-1WAC)
Dogs Down Idaho With Second-Half Surge
1/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2011
Moscow, ID - Sensing a huge change in the tide, senior forward Taja Edwards couldn't contain her emotions.
"Let's finish them off!" she yelled.
The Fresno State women's basketball team did just that Monday night. The Bulldogs overwhelmed Idaho with a commanding second-half performance, turning a nip-and-tuck battle into a resounding 84-67 victory.
The win pushes Fresno State's WAC winning streak to 20 games, three shy of the 23-game record set by Louisiana Tech from 2003-05. The Bulldogs face the Lady Techsters in the "Pack the House" Challenge on Thursday at the Save Mart Center.
Senior guard Jaleesa Ross led all scorers with 28 points, including an 8-for-15 effort from 3-point range. She wasn't the only one punishing the Vandals from downtown. As a team, the Bulldogs were 18-for-34 from the outside. Their 18 3-pointers are a new school record.
The victory came in the face of some unexpected adversity.
Head coach Adrian Wiggins was hit with two quick technical fouls and ejected with 4.1 seconds left in the first half for questioning a call made by referee Brenda Pantoja. A stunned Wiggins pleaded his case but to no avail and was sent to the Fresno State locker room. The ejection was Wiggins' first since being named the Bulldogs' head coach in 2005.
With Wiggins unavailable, associate head coach Brett Frank took the reins, and the Bulldogs (11-5, 2-0 WAC) proceeded to shake off a determined Vandals team. More specifically, Fresno State threw them off.
The Bulldogs went on a 23-2 run midway through the second half, and a 32-32 halftime tug-of-war suddenly became a 69-52 lead on a fastbreak layup by freshman Taylor Thompson, the WAC Player of the Week, with 7:16 to play.
"What you saw tonight was a championship team," Frank said. "A young team might've caved and crumbled. They showed the heart of a champion."
Fresno State outscored Idaho 52-35 in the second half. Rosie Moult and Edwards scored 12 points apiece, while Thompson added 11. The Bulldogs racked up 22 assists, with Bree Farley, Thompson and Moult accounting for 14 of them.
For the second time in as many games, Fresno State faced an early deficit, falling behind 13-3 just five minutes into the half. The Bulldogs struggled against the Vandals' (8-6, 1-1) trademark zone defense and hit just 3 of their first 14 attempts from the floor.
To help deal with the zone, Fresno State took its game outside. Ross hit three consecutive 3-pointers during a 12-0 Bulldogs' run. Her third jumper gave Fresno State its first lead of the night (18-17) with 8:20 to go in the half.
Ross kept hitting the target and knocked down two more long-range buckets to push the advantage to 25-21. Fresno State's first eight buckets were 3-pointers with Ross accounting for five of those.
The Bulldogs hit nine 3s in the first half.
"Offensively, Jaleesa had an All-American performance," Frank said. "She came alive and was totally dominant."
"We Are Your Team!" -- Make sure to head to the Save Mart Center on Thursday when Fresno State takes on rival Louisiana Tech in the WAC "Pack the House" challenge. Help the Bulldogs break the current attendance record of 7,042 and be a part of a nationally televised audience, as the game will be televised on ESPNU. The first 1,500 fans through the doors get a free pompom to help cheer on the team.
