FRESNO, Calif. - Omelogo Udeze scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds as Fresno State defeated Santa Clara 87-72 in a first-round WNIT game at the North Gym.
Fresno State advances to the second round to take on Oregon State on Monday, March 24 at 7 p.m. at Selland Arena.
Udeze, who recorded her 11th double-double of the year, helped the Bulldogs (20-12) hold a 62-33 advantage on the boards. Her 19 rebounds were also a single-game record for any player in the history of the postseason WNIT.
The Bulldogs, who were making their first postseason appearance since the 1990 WNIT, hit a season-high 13 three-pointers and held Santa Clara (20-11) to 39 percent shooting. The Broncos, who finished third in the West Coast Conference, were playing without starting point guard Kayla Huss due to injury. They were 8-of-30 from beyond the arc.
Trailing 45-35 at half, Santa Clara began the second half ablaze, hitting 8 of its first 10 shots. Meanwhile, Fresno State made just 2 of its first 13 field goal attempts coming out of the locker room, allowing the Broncos to turn a 10-point halftime into a 58-50 lead.
But the Bulldogs followed up SCU's run with an 11-0 burst of their own, retaking the lead 61-58. The run swelled to 20-2 as Fresno State moved ahead 70-60. Laura Garcia, who finished with a season-high 21, hit three three-pointers during the run.
Six Fresno State players scored in double figures. In addition to the performances of Udeze and Garcia, Veronica Mack had 16 while Linday Logan, Tiffany Simon and Java Johnson added 10 each.