After a week where the road teams dominated, the home teams took control on Jan. 11. Three of the four home teams won with Fresno State defeating San Jose State, 61-36. Utah State won its second-straight game with a 78-70 win over Idaho. Nevada moved to 2-1 in conference play with a 69-59 win over Hawai?i.
First-place Boise State was the lone road victor. The Broncos moved to 3-0 in the WAC with a 66-52 win at New Mexico State, handing the Aggies their first conference loss of the season. Boise State will now face the only other undefeated team in conference play, Louisiana Tech, on Jan. 13. The game can be seen on WAC.tv.
Boise State 66, New Mexico State 52
The Boise State Broncos ran past the New Mexico State Aggies 66-52 in a key early WAC game Thursday night in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The two entered the day in a three-way tie for first place with Louisiana Tech at 2-0. The win propels Boise State into sole possession of first at 3-0 with a big game at Louisiana Tech pending this weekend. The Lady Techsters are idle until they host Boise State Saturday night. Jessica Thompson led the Broncos over New Mexico State tonight with 20 points, her fourth consecutive 20+ point game and sixth of the season.
The Broncos were on fire shooting 41 percent (12-of-29) from the floor, 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from three-point range, and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the foul line in the first half. They pushed the tempo and drove to the basket at will causing havoc for the New Mexico State defenders. As a result, the Aggies found themselves in early foul trouble which plagued them throughout the entire 40 minutes.
Jess Thompson was the only Bronco to hit double-figure points with 20. She was followed by Jackie Thompson with eight, Michelle Hessing and Tasha Harris each added seven. Hessing had a team high eight rebounds. New Mexico State was led by three players in double-digit points beginning with Anikia Jawara with 14, Sherell Neal recorded a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Tyshae Walton with 11 points.
Fresno State 61, San Jose State 36
Stifling defense and 15 first-half points from Tierre Wilson helped the Bulldogs win their first conference home game of the year 61-36. Every Fresno State player saw time during the game, even as the Bulldogs held an opponent under 40 points for the first time since 2004. The Bulldogs' homestand continues Saturday, when Fresno State hosts Hawai'i at 1 p.m.
On the game, the Spartans shot 30% from the field and turned the ball over 28 times, while Fresno State shot 43.1% on 25-58 shooting.
Nevada 69, Hawai`i 59
Senior Traci Graham led three Nevada players in double figures as the Wolf Pack women’s basketball team downed Hawai`i 69-59 on Thursday night at Lawlor Events Center. Sophomore Brandi Fitzgerald scored 13 points while Dellena Criner added 12 for Nevada, which improved to 8-8 overall and 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference play.
Hawaii was led by Tanya Smith’s double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds, both game-highs.Freshman Marianne Lombardi started her third consecutive game and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for Nevada
Utah State 78, Idaho 70
Brittany Phillips scored a season-high 20 points and Jenny Gross recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 18 points and a career-best tying 10 rebounds as Utah State defeated Idaho 78-70 in women's basketball action here Thursday night.
The Aggies improved to 6-9 overall and 2-1 in the WAC, while Idaho fell to 3-11 and 0-3. Utah State held off a late Idaho rally to get the win. The Aggies built up an 18-point lead less than four minutes into the second half after a pair of Gross free throws gave the home team a 50-32 lead.