Idaho 55, Fresno State 52
FRESNO, Calif. ? Idaho held Fresno State 20 points below its scoring average and defeated the Bulldogs 55-52 Saturday to move to 3-1 in the Western Athletic Conference for just the second time in school history.
Idaho (6-9, 3-1 WAC), the team picked to finish dead last in the conference during the preseason, used stifling defense and key free throw shooting to shock the defending WAC champion Bulldogs (11-5, 2-1), the team picked second in the preseason coaches’ and media polls.
Fresno State entered the contest ranked 38th in the nation with a 72.7 scoring average, but had just 16 points at halftime ? its lowest halftime total of the year. The Bulldogs were also just 3-of-19 (.158) from three-point range in the first half and finished the game 11-of-35 (.314) from beyond the arc.
Idaho shot 35 percent on the game, including 10-of-24 (.417) in the second half, while Fresno State shot 31 percent overall after shooting 20 percent in the first half. Idaho out-rebounded the Bulldogs 44-41 and held the advantage in paint points (18-12), second-chance points (16-11) and bench points (10-2).
Yinka Olorunnife finished with a 14 points and 14 rebounds in leading Idaho to its best rebounding performance of the year at 44 as a team. Shaena Kuehu added 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and a block. Both Olorunnife and Kuehu have now scored in double-digits in five consecutive games.
Bailey Amundson led Fresno State with 18 points and six rebounds, while Hayley Munro scored 14 and Jalessa Ross dropped 10. The rest of the team had just 10 points combined.
San Jose State 54, Hawai?i 50
SAN JOSE, Calif. ? The Spartans picked up their first WAC win of the season, and just their second overall, with a 54-50 win over Hawai?i Saturday.
With the win, San Jose State improves to 2-13 overall and 1-1 in WAC play. Hawai?i falls to 3-12 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
The Spartans shot 41 percent from the field and 64 percent from three-point range on the game. The Rainbow Wahine connected on 33 percent from the field and 25 percent from downtown. Both teams pulled down 35 boards.
Natalie White led all players with 21 points, including 5-of-5 from three-point range. Chasity Shavers chipped in 11 points and Shaunna Ridge grabbed eight rebounds.
Dita Liepkalne paced Hawai?i with 12 points and five assists.
Louisiana Tech 90, Utah State 82 (OT)
LOGAN, Utah ? In a battle of the top two defensive teams in the WAC, offense proved to be the name of the game as Louisiana Tech downed Utah State 90-82 in overtime at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Saturday night.
Tech (8-8, 1-1 WAC) rallied from seven points down with seven minutes to play to take a late lead before Utah State (7-9, 1-2 WAC) sent the game into overtime with an Ana Pares bucket with five seconds to play.
The Lady Techsters outscored the Aggies 19-11 in the extra period to record their first road victory of the season in a game that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes. Tech hit 50 percent (32-of-64) of its field goals, while Utah State connected on 52 percent (35-of-68) of its shots. Both teams hit four three-pointers but Tech hit 22-of-35 free throws while Utah State made 8-of-14.
Whitney Jones scored a career-high 31 points on 14-of-20 shooting. Adrienne Johnson added 22 points and 10 rebounds, Shanavia Dowdell chipped in with 14 points and nine boards and Sidney Stewart scored 12 points.
Pares led Utah State with 20 points. Meanwhile, Danyelle Snelgro took sole possession of first place on the all-time steal chart with her 176th steal in the first half. Along with the steal record, Snelgro also dished out a career-high 10 assists and tied a career high with 19 points en route to her second double-double of the season and the Aggies' third overall.
Nevada 61, New Mexico State 56
RENO, Nev. ? Led by Dellena Criner’s 21 points and double-digit rebounds by Cherlanda Franklin and Brandi Jones, Nevada beat New Mexico State 61-56 Saturday afternoon at Lawlor Events Center.
With the win, Nevada improves to 8-7 overall and 2-0 in WAC play, opening conference play with back-to-back wins for the third time in program history. With the loss, New Mexico State falls to 4-12 overall and 0-2 in WAC play.
The Pack shot 43 percent (24-of-56) from the floor while the Aggies shot 32 percent (20-of-62). Nevada also grabbed 52 rebounds to the Aggies’ 31.
Criner scored a game-high 21 points including three three-point shots. Franklin and Marissa Hammond each added eight points.
Franklin, who grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, and Jones, who tied her career high with 11, each joined the 500 career rebound club during the game. Franklin has recorded 504 career rebounds, while Jones has recorded 503. They are the 11th and 12th players in program history to record at least 500 career rebounds. They are both on pace to break into the career Top 10 in rebounding as KaTrina Crenshaw (1994-97) is 10th on the career rebounding list with 512 career rebounds.
Danisha Corbett and Madison Spence led the way for NMSU with 17 points each.