Matt Weir / The Collegian

After routing San Jose State, the Bulldogs now trail only Nevada

The Fresno State women’s basketball team speared the Spartans of San Jose 73-44 Friday night in front of a season-high crowd of 3,111 at the Save Mart Center, improving their record to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

With the win the ’Dogs moved into second place outright in the WAC, trailing only Nevada. The Wolfpack beat Boise State Friday night to remain undefeated in conference play.

San Jose scored the opening basket, but after that it was all Bulldogs. At one point Fresno State led 46-16. San Jose has only two wins on the season, but the Bulldogs were relentless, leaving starters in the rotation deep into the second half and holding the Spartans to 16 of 57 from the floor. The loss put the Spartans at a dismal 2-18.

“I was very proud of our effort,” said Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins. “I felt like we had a great week in practice. We were very intense. We moved very well and it carried over into the game. We really attacked San Jose aggressively and finished. We had a lot of great shot opportunities tonight that kept our offense going. Our transition was really fast tonight. We did a great job of going from a defensive rebound to an offensive shot.”

Hayley Munro had a great night with 22 points and five rebounds from only 20 minutes of play. Jaleesa Ross also played well, despite having an injured thumb wrapped in tape. She had 15 points, including a trio of 3-point shots. Bailey Amundsen had 12 points and six rebounds. The team continued its trend of shooting well behind the arc, hitting eight three-pointers on the night.

The only low point was that the team committed 20 turnovers against a team that was vastly overmatched in nearly every other category.

Defense strong

After the game, coach Wiggins seemed happy with the game and the season so far, saying, “I like the mentality we have… we had great ball pressure tonight. What was even more impressive was when they dribbled to the basket, we jumped to help. Five people playing together like that is hard to deal with.”

Wiggins also talked about goals for the remainder of the season. He said, “You have to conquer the season in small segments. We have nine games left in conference and they’re nine big games.”

Defense was a big highlight for the Bulldogs. San Jose was held to 28 percent from the field and only hit 3 of 15 from behind the arc. The Spartans were also forced into 21 turnovers.

When asked what she heard most from coach Wiggins during the game, Munro answered, “Look after the ball.”

Ross was pleased with the team’s defense and consistent play, saying “we are what we repeatedly do.”
If Fresno State can “repeatedly do” what it did Friday night, it stands a good chance of returning to the NCAA tournament.

Matt Weir / The Collegian

Bulldogs take on USU

Even though the biggest sports game of the year took place on Sunday afternoon, the Fresno State women’s basketball team held true to its commitment and took on the Aggies.

The Bulldogs were led by Munro, who had a career-high 28 points, in their 68-59 victory over the Aggies.

Munro found 11 of her points from the free-throw line, and also led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds.
Fresno State outrebounded Utah State by 21 and recorded 24 offensive boards.

After their win on Super Sunday, the Bulldogs begin a four-game road trip that will last most of February. The trip will begin against Nevada, which is currently in first place in the WAC, and will conclude with a game against Boise State.

The Broncos had been tied with Fresno State until Friday night’s game. The next home game will be on Feb. 27 at 7 pm, also against first-place Nevada.

Related Multimedia:

• The Collegian’s REDWAVE podcast: Women’s hoops
• Video: Women’s basketball trounce Spartans
• Gallery: Women’s hoops vs. San Jose