Fresno State 78, Hawai?i 50
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State bench sparked the Bulldogs to a 78-50 victory over Hawai'i on Thursday night at the Save Mart Center. The win ups Fresno State's record to 11-4 and 2-0 in WAC play, while the Rainbow Wahine drop to 3-11 and 0-1 in conference.
The Bulldogs out-rebounded Hawai'i 39-31 and forced 25 turnovers. Fresno State also had a season-high 18 steals and tied a season high with 20 assists.
Ashley Walker, Brittny Jones and Taja Edwards came off the bench to score career highs in points as Walker had a game-high 13 points, Edwards 12 and Jones 11. Hayley Munro also had 12. Munro led the Bulldogs in rebounding with eight, while LaShay Fears and LaToya Brown Brown each had five assists and no turnovers.
UH was led by Megan Tinnin, who scored 10 points. Dita Liepkalne added nine points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
Nevada 64, Louisiana Tech 57
RENO, Nev. ? Nevada opened WAC play with a 64-57 win over Louisiana Tech Thursday night at Lawlor Events Center. The seven-point margin of victory marked the Pack’s largest win ever over Louisiana Tech and was the Pack’s second straight win over the Techsters in Reno.
With the win Nevada improved to 7-7 overall (1-0 WAC) while Louisiana Tech fell to 7-8 overall (0-1) WAC.
Cherlanda Franklin tied her career high with 17 points, while Brandi Jones added 15 and Dellena Criner scored 12. Shavon Moore led Nevada with a career-high 11 rebounds, while Jones added nine.
As a team, the Pack tied their season high with 49 rebounds as Nevada out-rebounded Louisiana Tech 49-36. The Pack also recorded a season-high 17 steals, including six by Criner, who trails Traci Graham (237 career steals) by three for Nevada's all-time record.
Whitney Jones led Tech with 14 points, while Shanavia Dowdell added 11 points and 10 rebounds and Adrienne Johnson finished with 11 points.
Utah State 72, New Mexico State 58
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State cruised to a 72-58 win over New Mexico State in Thursday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The victory snapped USU's three-game losing skid, as the Aggies improved to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in WAC play. NMSU lost its seventh-straight game, dropping to 4-11 overall and 0-1 in WAC action.
Chelsea Burns scored a career-high 15 points, as did Ana Pares and Lydia Whitehead. Danyelle Snelgro netted 13 points to go with a career-high nine assists, part of USU's season-best 20 helpers. Snelgro also matched a season-high with five steals, which gives her 175 for her career, tying Margaret Johns (1980-83), for the USU career steals record.
New Mexico State had three players in double-digits, led by Tabytha Wampler's 15 points. Madison Spence tallied 14 points, while Danisha Corbett tossed in 11. Niki Holt pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, as NMSU had a 39-32 rebounding advantage.
Utah State shot 46 percent (27-of-59) from the floor, including 6-of-13 (46 percent) from three-point range and 71 percent (12-of-17) at the free throw line. New Mexico State connected on 19-of-53 (36 percent) from the field, 27 percent (4-of-15) from beyond the arc and 73 percent (16-of-22) from the charity stripe.
Idaho 66, San Jose State 47
SAN JOSE, Calif. ? Idaho started the game with a 13-0 run and never looked back on Thursday, with a 66-47 win at San Jose State.
Idaho moves to 5-9 overall and 2-1 in the WAC, while San Jose State slips to 1-13 and 0-1 in the WAC. The Vandals have a winning record in the WAC for just the second time ever. Idaho started the 2006 WAC season, Idaho’s first in the conference, with a 3-1 record and finished 5-11.
Idaho shot 44 percent from the field (22-of-50) on the game, while San Jose State shot 19-of-61 (31 percent).
Shaena Kuehu finished with a career-high 19 points, while Derisa Taleni added 14 points with eight boards. Yinka Olorunnife put in 10 points and grabbed eight boards.
Shaunna Ridge led SJSU with a team-best 12 points and nine rebounds.