Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
15-7, 6-2WAC
Louisiana Tech
16-5, 8-0WAC
Dogs Nipped By LA Tech
2/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2011
Ruston, LA - The Fresno State women's basketball team's quest to win its fourth consecutive WAC regular-season title got a bit trickier Saturday night.
Despite pushing Louisiana Tech to the brink, the Bulldogs couldn't completely clear the hurdle and fell 90-84 in overtime at the Thomas Assembly Center. Senior guard Jaleesa Ross led all scorers with 30 points.
The loss drops Fresno State two games behind the Lady Techsters in the WAC title race with eight games remaining before next month's conference tournament. That said, coach Adrian Wiggins had little difficulty finding the silver lining to the defeat.
"We've got great things ahead of us," he said. "We'll be fine."
Even with a 14-point lead in the first half, the Bulldogs (15-7, 6-2 WAC) spent most of the night in catch-up mode. Every possession was a battle, and Fresno State showed it was up for the challenge, continually finding a way to rally with a raucous crowd of 7,123 fans at its back. The squad just couldn't come up with the answers in overtime.
Louisiana Tech (16-5, 8-0), which is off to its best start since the 2004-05 season, outscored the Bulldogs 14-8 in overtime.
Senior forward Marnique Arnold finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Rosie Moult added 16 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Senior forward Taja Edwards added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"We've been down this road before," Wiggins said. "A lot of things can happen. ... As a basketball coach, there's a reason why we're three-time WAC champions. The players were totally classy; they handled this with grace and passion."
Fresno State trailed by five points with 2:23 left in regulation, but that was plenty of time to mount a comeback. Ross cut the deficit to 73-70 with a layup, and Moult and Hayley Munro both worked their way to the free-throw line to give their team a chance. Munro knocked down a pair of free-throws to give the Bulldogs a 76-75 lead with 21.2 second to play.
But just as they did in last month's triple-overtime victory against Fresno State, the Lady Techsters forced the issue in the waning seconds. Adrienne Johnson hit the second of two free throws to send the game into overtime. Johnson finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
For the Bulldogs, Saturday's defeat is a bitter pill to swallow after what was already an extremely trying week. Fresno State began the stretch by having Thursday night's game against New Mexico State postponed because of rolling blackouts in the Las Cruces, N.M., area.
A series of canceled flights and various delays prevented the Bulldogs from heading to Louisiana until Saturday morning. Indeed, their bus pulled up to the Thomas Assembly Center with just minutes to spare. Wiggins and his staff didn't even have time to change from their travel gear and instead manned the sidelines in team sweats.
"We had to wait 14 hours before we were expected to start our workday," Wiggins said. "It wasn't an ordinary experience. We make no excuses for it. We just came up short."
"We Are Your Team!" - The Bulldogs return to the Save Mart Center to face Boise State on Thursday. For more information, visit Gobulldogs.com.
