FRESNO, Calif. ? Fresno State used a deadly perimeter attack to down Louisiana Tech 75-52 before 2,244 fans at the Save Mart Center Thursday night in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The Bulldogs (6-8, 1-0 WAC) hit 12 three-pointers, including nine in the opening 20 minutes as Fresno State built a commanding 46-21 halftime lead.
?We knew they were a good outside shooting team,? said Tech head coach Chris Long. ?They spread you out and try to drive, drive, drive and then kick it out. We didn?t do a very good job in the first half of defending them and they made us pay.
?You simply can?t dig yourself a 25-point hole. We did a much better job in the second half on both ends, but we were just too far behind. We didn?t execute in the first half like we needed to; hopefully we will learn from this.?
While Fresno State was bombing away from the outside (the Bulldogs hit 9-of-17 from beyond the arc in the first half), Tech (6-8, 0-1 WAC) was struggling to score. The Lady Techsters made just 7-of-30 first half field goals and committed 13 turnovers.
?We got only three shot by our two starting post players in the first half,? Long said. ?Fresno State was really pressuring our guards and we didn?t do a good job of being strong with the basketball and getting it inside.?
Tech opened the second half holding Fresno State without a field goal for almost seven minutes as LaShaunte Stephens hit a jumper with 13:17 to play to give the Bulldogs a 53-33 lead.
The Lady Techsters solid defensive effort in the final 20 minutes allowed Tech to cut the Fresno State advantage to 56-43 on a jumper by
Adrienne Johnson at the 9:07 mark. However, back to back three-point players by Erica Henry and Tierre Wilson pushed the advantage back out to 19, ending any real Tech threat.
?I challenged these kids at the half,? Long said. ?I wanted to know who wanted to play. Who was going to play with the intensity and effort needed, not just for tonight, but for the rest of the year. We played more of our bench in the second half and I thought some of those kids responded.?
Fresno State jumped out to a 7-0 lead before
JoKeirra Sneed hit a layup at the 16:01 mark to get Tech on the board. Tech trailed 10-8 before Fresno State used a 36-13 run to close the half up 25 points.
JoKeirra Sneed led Tech with 17 points and 14 rebounds while
Tarkeisha Wysinger added 13 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
Henry led Fresno State with 16 points while Jaleesa Ross added 12 points, Bailey Amundsen scored 11 and Tierre Wilson chipped in with 10 points.
Tech returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Idaho at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.
