FRESNO,
Calif. - The wait is over. After 43 years, the Fresno State women's
basketball team will be playing in the NCAA tournament. On Monday, it was
announced that Fresno State will be the No. 14 seed and play No. 3 seed Baylor
in Albuquerque, New Mexico at The Pit on Saturday, March 22.
"It
was relief was what it was," senior Erica
Henry said when she saw Fresno State come across the TV screen.
"I had butterflies inside my stomach beforehand. But once I saw the name I
relaxed. It feels good to know where we are going, who we are playing and when
we are playing."
The
game will be at 11 a.m. Pacific time and it can be seen live on ESPN 2 on
Saturday with Bob Wischusen and Jimmy Dykes calling the action.
Baylor
is 24-6 and is ranked No. 12 in the AP poll. The Lady Bears have five players
that average in double figures led by Angela Tisdale's 16.2 points a game.
Baylor has been to the NCAA tournament five straight years and seven times in
the last eight years. Baylor won the national championship in 2004-05.
The
winner of the Baylor vs. Fresno State game will play with winner of No. 6
Pittsburg against No. 11 Wyoming on Monday. The four teams are playing in the
Spokane Regional. Other games being played at the Pit in the Spokane Regional
is No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 New Mexico and No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13
Montana.
Fresno
State earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by beating New Mexico
State in the WAC tournament championship game on Saturday, 72-56. Baylor
finished 12-4 in the Big 12 conference.
"I
am very proud of our team," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "We have good
assistant coaches, good support staff and to see it all come together and lead
to this is very exciting. It's exciting. We enjoyed the suspense and it is a
memory we'll have for a long time."
Fans
wishing to purchase tickets should call the Fresno State ticket office at
559-278-7929. Single session ticket prices are $21 for adults and $16 for
students. Fans should contact the Hilton hotel in Albuquerque for hotel
information.
Boise State to Host Idaho State in WNIT First Round
Boise, ID--The waiting is over, Boise State will
host instate rival Idaho State Thursday night in the first round of the Women’s
National Invitational Tournament. The winner will advance to the second round
and a Monday, March 24, night encounter at TCU (Texas Christian) in Forth
Worth, Texas. Tip between the Broncos and Bengals Thursday night is scheduled
for 7:00 p.m. (Mountain) at Taco Bell Arena. Tickets go on sale Tuesday morning
at 10:00 a.m. at all Select-a-Seat outlets and at the Varsity Athletic Ticket
Office.
This will be the second meeting of the year between
the two rivals with Boise State winning a hard fought 78-74 battle over Idaho
State December 29th in Pocatello. The Broncos have won four straight over the
Bengals, all four have been decided by eight points or less. Boise State leads
the overall series 42-18 with a 22-7 record in Boise.
The
Broncos earned the Western Athletic Conference’s automatic bid to the Women’s
National Invitational Tournament following Fresno State’s victory over New
Mexico State in the WAC Tournament championship game last weekend. That gave
the Bulldogs the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament opening the
WNIT bid to the Broncos. This is the second trip for Boise State to the WNIT
all-time. The last appearance for the blue and orange was on March 13, 1998
when they traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take on the LSU Lady Tigers.
Boise State lost that encounter to the Southeastern Conference school by the
score of 58-38.