The last time the Fresno State women's basketball team failed to make a 3-point shot against Louisiana Tech, the result was a 78-40 blowout loss in Ruston, La.
It happened again Saturday on the same Thomas Assembly Center court. But this time, the Bulldogs escaped with a 61-59 victory in front of 7,034 screaming crazies on pack-the-house night.
Fresno State bricked all eight of its 3-pointers, but got it done by scoring repeatedly on drives to the hoop that resulted in baskets and trips to the foul line.
The victory boosted Fresno State (19-4) to 7-0 in the WAC through the first round and was the team's eighth straight.
Fresno State last went oh-for the 3-pointer on March 3, 2007 at the Save Mart Center. Didn't matter. The Bulldogs beat Utah State 71-60.
Going back to La. Tech, 2007. The Bulldogs went 0 for 11 from beyond the arc that day during a 17-13 season, and the last one before coach Adrian Wiggins switched to a dribble-drive motion offense that featured the 3-point shot.
Since then, the Bulldogs have become of the nation's elite 3-point sharpshooters, twice knocking down the most in a season. This season they're No. 2 in the land and tops by far in the WAC.
Fresno State opens the second half of WAC play next Saturday at Nevada with a one-game lead on Utah State.
Notes: Bulldogs nearly blew 4-point lead with 2:55 left against Louisiana Tech. Leading 61-57, Ki-Ki Moore committed a turnover, Rosie Moult missed a layup, then had another blocked, then missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 6 seconds left. Fresno State survived when Angie Felton's 30-foot heave bounced off the glass and rim at the buzzer.
Here's some postgame remarks by Techsters coach Teresa Weatherspoon:
We didn't do a good job of defending dribble penetration. We allowed token pressure to take us out of everything we wanted to do. Once we started pushing the ball, run a little we executed better.
We held them to no 3-pointers, but they got 52 points in the paint. For most part we took away what they do best. But they didn't accept that. They put the ball on the floor and got by us.
They were able to make whatever shot they wanted and we never made the adjustments. They did a great job of knowing they weren't making the 3s and put the ball on the floor.
We never stopped anybody.
Last seconds: got the ball back with 10 seconds left and called a timeout. Two players ran into each other and \[Jasmine\] Bendolph turned over the ball. We had it set perfectly. Get a curl play and had that layup. Jasmine called for double dribble.
La. Tech drew 7,034 to the game on pack-the-house night. Fresno State will return the favor on March 1 with its own pack-the-house night.
Leave a comment