Thursday, Feb. 21 WAC Women’s Recaps
Utah State 56
Nevada 48
LOGAN, Utah - On "Think Pink Night," four players in navy and white posted double-figures to pace Utah State to a 56-48 win over Nevada in Western Athletic Conference women's basketball action Thursday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
As part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association "Cancer Awareness Weekend," Thursday was "Think Pink Night" at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Utah State players were decked out in pink warm-ups and sported pink shoelaces and headbands.
It was USU's second win in a row, improving to an 8-16 overall and 4-8 WAC ledger. Nevada has now lost two of its last three and is 18-8 overall and 9-4 in WAC play.
The win evens the series at four-all between the Aggies and Wolf Pack, splitting the season meetings with each team winning on its home court after Nevada's 75-55 win at Reno on Feb. 2.
Thursday was the sixth time that four USU players have posted double-digits this season, as senior forward Jenny Gross led the way with 13 points while classmate Taylor Richards posted 12 points. Junior guard Danyelle Snelgro tallied 11 and senior guard Jamelah Brown tossed in 10.
Nevada was led by Brandi Fitzgerald's game-high 15 points while Cherlanda Franklin added 10.
USU's Brown and UNR's Fitzgerald tied for game-high rebounding honors with eight each, as the Wolf Pack out-rebounded the Aggies, 41-38, highlighted by 16 on the offensive end.
Utah State shot 24-of-56 (42.9 percent) from the floor, hitting just 1-of-10 (10.0 percent) from three-point range. Nevada was 20-of-64 (31.3 percent) field goal shooting, including a paltry 1-of-15 (6.7 percent) behind the arc. It was a new USU-opponent season-low for three-point percentage.
Both teams were 7-of-10 (70.0 percent) at the free throw line, as there were only 18 combined fouls called.
After USU opened with a 7-2 lead, Nevada stormed back with an 11-2 run to take a 13-9 lead at the 13:52 mark on a Fitzgerald jumper.
Brown had a backcourt steal and layup at 12:55 to knot the score at 13-all and the Aggies never trailed again. Utah State led 28-25 at the half and stretched its lead to 40-33 on a jumper by Brown with 12:15 to play. The Wolf Pack whittled the deficit to 44-41 with 7:19 remaining on another Fitzgerald jumper. However, the Aggies pushed their lead to the largest of the night at 54-43 with 1:52 left on the clock and sealed the win.
USU continues its two-game homestand on Sunday, Feb. 24, hosting Fresno State at 2 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Utah State women's basketball tickets are available through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on "tickets" in left column, or by calling or (435) 797-0305 or 1-888-U-STATE-1 (1-888-878-2831).
Boise State 74
Idaho 40
BOISE, Idaho (2-21-08) - Boise State completed the season sweep of Idaho in convincing fashion Thursday night handing the Vandals a sound 74-40 defeat in Taco Bell Arena at Boise.
The Broncos wasted little time in putting away Idaho as they opened with a 27-6 run and never looked back winning their 11th consecutive Western Athletic Conference game to keep their title hopes alive.
Jessica Thompson led a balanced scoring attack for Boise State with a team high 13 points as the Broncos won their 14th consecutive home game and fourth straight victory over the Vandals.
The Broncos opened the game scoring seven of the first nine points of the contest to take an early 7-2 lead. They played equally well on the defensive side as well forcing five consecutive turnovers by Idaho before the Vandals got a shot off, which they missed followed by another turnover. That was the way the night went with Boise State never relinquishing the lead through 40 minutes of action. It marked the fifth time in 11 games this season in Taco Bell Arena that the Broncos led from the tip to final buzzer.
Once Boise State stretched their scoreboard advantage to double-figures at 19-7 with 10:33 remaining in the half, the Vandals were unable to cut the lead back to single digits the rest of the way. The first half ended with Boise State up 13 points, 34-21, after watching Idaho battle back from 22 down, 32-10, with 4:23 left in the period.
The second half opened with a quick Vandal 3-pointer by Carli Bakondy 28 seconds into the period. That was followed by 14 consecutive points by the Broncos to give Boise State a commanding 24-point, 48-24, lead with 16 minutes to play. Boise State steadily extended the margin into the 30’s with just over eight and a half minutes on the clock. The largest Boise State lead was 36 at 74-38 with 1:22 showing.
It was a much different game than the first encounter between the teams which Boise State won 65-60 in the final minute at Moscow on Feb. 2.
Tonight turnovers were a key factor as the Vandals lost the ball 26 times resulting in a 32-to-four Bronco advantage in points off turnovers during the game. Boise State also dominated the paint out scoring Idaho 34-to-20 down low. The boards also belonged to the Broncos by a 44-33 margin.
On the night Boise State shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the floor, 31.6 percent (6-19) from the 3-point arc, and 83.3 percent (10-12) from the free-throw line. Idaho countered with 31.5 percent (17-54) shooting from the court, 23.1 percent (3-13) from the arc, and 42.9 percent (3-7) from the charity stripe.
Jessica Thompson led four Broncos in double-figure points with a team high 13 to go with eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals. Tasha Harris followed with 12 points, four boards, two assists, and one steal. Sophomore Ja’Lara Walker completed her seventh start at center with her second straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Jamia Malone had 10 points, followed by Jackie Lee and Jenna Galassi with nine points each. Every Bronco scored in the game as Brittany Moore finished with five points, Melissa Rima chipped in four points and eight rebounds, followed by two points from Sierra Moeller.
Vandal standout Katie Madison led Idaho with 11 points, six rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and two steals. No other Vandals reached double-figure points. Yinka Olorunnife was second with eight points and seven rebounds, while Carli Bakondy finished with six points.
The win increases the Broncos win streak to 11 straight as they improve to 11-2 in the WAC and 19-6 overall. Idaho falls to 2-23 overall and 1-12 in conference. Boise State will be back in action next week when they try to reach the 20-win plateau for the second consecutive year.
They will complete their three-game home with a Thursday night encounter with San Jose State followed by Saturday’s “Senior Day” game against Hawai’i. Both games are scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m. (Mountain) in Taco Bell Arena.
New Mexico State 81
San Jose State 65
SAN JOSE, Calif. ? Four Aggies scored in doubles figures for the New Mexico State women’s basketball team who forced a season-high 26 turnovers as NMSU defeated San Jose State 81-65 Thursday evening at the Events Center.
Senior forward Anikia Jawara scored a game-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and she made 7-of-10 foul shots. Classmate Sherell Neal added 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds while freshman guard Madison Spence hit three 3-pointers to help her to 15 points on the evening.
In her first start of the season senior guard Irma Kmitaite-Smith played a quality 30 minutes and scored 13 points to go along with a game-high five assists.
The Aggies improve to 19-6 on the year and 9-3 in the conference while the Spartans drop to 2-23 and 1-11 in the WAC.
New Mexico State played a very solid defensive game and they got a season-high 33 points off of turnovers as head coach Darin Spence was glad to see his team play well in its only game of the week.
“It’s a great win for our kids to hold their composure and we played well in a tough environment,” Spence said. “We had a good team effort tonight and defensively I though we were pretty solid for the most part.”
The Aggies shot 48.2 percent from the field and made 21-of-29 free throws. San Jose State shot 40 percent from the floor and edged NMSU on the boards by three, but they had five players with four or more turnovers. There was a total of 50 fouls in the game that caused the final 10 plus minutes to really drag out.
Sophomore guard Myosha Barnes led the Spartans with 17 points and she had four assists.
The Aggies came out off the opening tip and really poured it on the Spartans early by outscoring them 17-4 in the first six minutes of the game. NMSU forced seven early turnovers, but Christine Martin got SJSU back in the game by hitting 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the Aggies lead down to 19-12.
Jawara silenced the Spartan run with back-to-back buckets to give her 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. A 15-foot jumper from Neal four minutes later put the Aggies up by 12.
Barnes scored seven-straight points to slice the Aggies lead back to single digits, but the Aggies scored 10 points in the final two minutes of the half to take a 39-25 lead into the locker room.
San Jose State turned the over 16 times in the first half of the game and Jawara led NMSU’s offensive charge by scoring 14 points in the first 20 minutes.
New Mexico State opened the second half on a 13-7 run in five minutes to open up a 20-point lead. Neal and Spence both hit 3-pointers at the trail end of the quick streak that blew the game wide open.
At the 9:50 mark Barnes scored her second old-fashion three point play on as many possessions to cut the Aggies lead down to 16. NMSU immediately in-bounded the ball and junior guard Tyshae Walton got a quick layup to make it a 63-45 Aggie lead.
By this point both teams were well into the bonus as the physical play created numerous fouls. Spence hit a 3-pointer on the far baseline after four free throws; two from Jawara and two from senior guard Monique Bribiescas to increase the Aggies lead to 21 at 6:48.
The Spartans kept scrapping back and would get within 12 points, but the slow pace of the game because of the fouls eventually came to an end with the Aggies picking up their sixth road victory of the season.
New Mexico State now returns to Las Cruces for a pair of crucial games. The Aggies host Nevada on Feb. 28 and two days later take on Fresno State in the first of back-to-back games between the two schools.
Fresno State 75
Hawai?i 62
Honolulu, HAWAI'I - The Fresno State women's basketball team had four players score in double figures as they beat the University of Hawai'i 75-62 on Thursday evening. The win ups the Bulldogs record to 16-9 overall and 11-1 in WAC and keeps them atop first place in the conference. Hawaii dropped to 9-15 and 3-8 in WAC.
"Hawai'i played well tonight," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "You have to give Hawai'i a lot of credit. They were real physical and executed their game plan well. We just hung in there made some baskets and thankfully came out with a win."
Jaleesa Ross led the Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points while Tierre Wilson had 15 points, LaShaunte Stephens 15, and Bailey Amundsen 14. Wilson also had seven assists and five rebounds. Stephens and Amundsen also had five rebounds to lead the Dogs on the boards
Fresno State shot 47 percent from the floor and forced Hawaii into 23 turnovers. The two teams each had 36 rebounds. Fresno State set a new single season record for 3-pointers attempted with their 27 attempts. The Dogs needed only 11 attempts to break the previous record of 561 attempts by the 2002-03 team.
The game had eight ties and nine lead changes before the Bulldogs were able to pull away.
The run that put Fresno State on top started with 12 minutes left to play in the contest and the Bulldogs trailing 47-44. Fresno State then went on a 14-2 run to take a 58-49 lead with 7:49 to play following a 3-pointer by Stephens.
The Rainbow Wahine got with five at 60-55 with 5:25 to play before Wilson scored seven of her 15 points in the last five minutes of the game.
The Bulldogs return to the floor on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they play at Utah State. The game can be heard live on 1430 ESPN Radio.