Fresno State Athletics
Pack The House!
1/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2011
Fresno, CALIF. - It's time to take back the WAC and Pack the House!
On Thursday, Jan. 13, the Save Mart Center is the place to be when the Fresno State women's basketball team battles WAC rival Louisiana Tech for much more than early conference supremacy. The game is also part of the NCAA Pack the House Challenge, an annual promotion designed to promote women's basketball nationwide.
The Lady Techsters are the WAC's three-time winner of the event, and now is your chance to help the Bulldogs take the title and do so as part of a nationally televised audience, as the action will unfold live on ESPNU.
"We take a lot of pride in our attendance," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "This is just another opportunity to show that off. This is a chance to let the nation know what our community already knows."
Indeed, the Bulldogs have had little trouble attracting crowds at the Save Mart Center; they continually boast one of the strongest attendance records on the West Coast. During the 2004-05 season, a record crowd of 7,042 fans came out to see Fresno State beat Pepperdine 58-38.
The Bulldogs want to beat that mark Thursday.
"We do an awesome job of getting everybody out, but to see 7,000 out here for that La Tech game would mean so much for us seniors," senior forward Taja Edwards said. "That would be big for us. There's no reason we can't get 7,000. We're the defending WAC champions for crying out loud. Why not come see us?"
It's a good question.
Why not come see the Bulldogs on their quest to win their fourth consecutive WAC regular season championship? Why not come see senior guard Jaleesa Ross continue her assault on the Fresno State record books? Ross, already the program's leading 3-point shooter, is currently in second place on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list with 1,684 points. She needs just 95 more to pass Yvette Roberts and leap to the top of the heap.
The first 1,500 fans through the doors get a pompom to help cheer on the Bulldogs, and one lucky fan will win a Fresno State licensed OTHA HDTV.
"One day, we hope to have 7,000 here every night," Wiggins said. "We're not far from that. We just need people to catch the wave of a growing sport. "
Other promotions will include:
- A postgame autograph session
- Garmin navigation system giveaway
- $2 ticket offer for kids wearing their youth basketball jersey
- Fresno State students with their student ID can bring a non-student guest and BOTH get in free
- Bring a print-out of the game event from the Fresno State Athletics Facebook fan page for a buy-one-get-one free ticket deal. Fresno State Athletics on Facebook
Other groups that are offered a buy-one-get-one-free ticket include Fresno State Alumni Association members, Bulldog Foundation members, and Fresno State faculty and staff.
"We Are Your Team!" -- Fresno State opens WAC play Saturday at Utah State. For more information, visit Gobulldogs.com.
