BOISE, Idaho (1/28/08) - Tasha Harris scored 24 points to surpass the 1,000 point career milestone and lead Boise State to a big 82-62 win over league leading Fresno State Monday night at Taco Bell Arena in Boise. The Broncos opened the game on a 15-3 run and never looked back as they remain undefeated at home extending their win streak to 10 at Taco Bell Arena and 11 overall in Boise. The victory cuts the Bulldogs lead in the conference standings to one over Boise State as the Broncos increased their win streak to five straight in league action.
Boise State opened the game fast and never took their feet off the breaks as they sprinted out to a early 15-3 lead with 13:26 to play in the opening 20-minutes. The Broncos held the Bulldogs to one field goal, a 3-pointer by Tierre Wilson, in the first seven minutes.
The Broncos stretched the lead to 17 points with 7:20 left before half. However, Fresno State kept battling back cutting the Boise State advantage to eight points twice, the last came at the halftime buzzer with the score reading 35-27 in favor of the Broncos. Junior guard Tasha Harris paced Boise State with 11 first half points. Meanwhile, Brittany Moore came in off the bench to spark the Broncos late in the half with eight impact points to keep the momentum on the side of the blue and orange heading into the intermission.
The second half was all Boise State as they slowly pulled away with sizzling shooting as they hit 60 percent (18-30) from the floor in the half. The Broncos continually pushed the tempo and eventually stretched their lead to a game high 25 points twice late in the game, the last was 80-55 with 2:47 remaining. Boise State eventually settled for a 20 point, 82-62, win while scoring 80 plus points for the fourth time in the last five games.
Boise State finished the game shooting a season high 52.4 percent (33-63) from the court, an impressive 42.9 percent (9-21) from behind the arc, and a solid 87.5 percent (7-8) from the free-throw line. Fresno State was held to 32.8 percent (20-61) shooting from the floor and 36.4 percent (12-33) from 3-point range, in addition, they converted 71.4 percent (10-14) of their foul shots.
The Bulldogs did win the rebound battle 38-to-31 over the Broncos. Boise State was surprisingly dominating in the paint out scoring Fresno State 30-to-14. The turnovers went in favor of the blue and orange as they forced 25 Bulldog turnovers compared to 16 of their own resulting in a 31-to-14 Boise State advantage in points off turnovers.
Tasha Harris extended her double figure scoring streak to 22 games with a team high 24 points for the second consecutive game. She also reached the 1,000 career point milestone when she hit a layup with 3:51 to play in the first period. The junior from Longmont, Colo. went 11-of-15 from the floor and added three rebounds, seven assists, and one steal in 31 minutes of action.
In all, four Broncos recorded double digit points on the night. Following Harris was Jackie Lee with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, and a career high seven steals. Jenna Galassi recorded her fourth consecutive game in double figure points with 11 to go with one board, two assists, and two steals. Jessica Thompson playing through a injury and pain recorded 11 points, four assists, and three steals. Brittany Moore finished the game with eight points. Ja'Lara Walker got the first start of her career and finished with four points and a team high eight rebounds, while freshmen Melissa Rima added four points and two rebounds, and Sierra Moeller chipped in with two points and five rebounds.
Fresno State was led by LaShaunte Stephens with 17 points and five rebounds, followed by Jaleesa Ross with 12 points. The Bulldogs leading scorer and the WAC’s number three ranked player Tierre Wilson was held to eight points.
The win improves Boise State to 13-6 overall and 5-2 in league play. The loss was the first for Fresno State in WAC action and snapped their nine-game win streak as they drop to 6-1 in conference and 11-9 overall. The week continues for Boise State as they hit the road for two games beginning with San Jose State this Thursday night followed by a meeting at arch-rival Idaho on Saturday.