Ross Scores 31 in Win over La Tech

Fresno State is 15-5 and has won seven straight.

Jaleesa Ross scored a game-high 31 points in Saturday's 71-61 win over Louisiana Tech.

Jan. 23, 2010

FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's basketball team won its seventh straight game and improved to 6-0 in WAC and 15-5 overall after beating Louisiana Tech 71-61 on Saturday evening at the Save Mart Center in front of a crowd of 3,449. The Lady Techsters dropped to 12-5 and 3-2 in conference.

The seven-game win streak ties the school record for the second-longest win streak in school history. Three other teams have won seven straight games.

"We want to give a lot of credit to Louisiana Tech," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "They played really hard and do a good job. It was a great competition and the game had a lot of runs. I think we probably just had the last run before time went out. I don't want to take away from our effort. We played hard. I am very proud of our leadership. I am very proud of the young ladies that are up here. It took a lot of effort and a lot of sacrifice."

Jaleesa Ross was two points away from tying her career-high as she scored a game-high 31 points on 10-18 shooting from the field. She hit six 3-pointers and had six rebounds and four assists. Hayley Munro had 11 points and five rebounds while Joh-Teena Filipe led the Bulldogs in rebounding with 10. Emma Andrews came off the bench to score nine points.

"Everybody did something that was little that was huge for our team," Ross said. "If it was a nice block out or making the extra pass, everybody did something that people don't recognize but it was huge for us in getting the win."

Fresno State shot 42 percent from the floor and only turned the ball over 12 times while forcing 19 La Tech turnovers. Louisiana Tech did out rebound Fresno State 43-34.

The game was a battle the entire game as it wasn't until the Bulldogs took the 71-61 lead with 31 seconds left in the game did Fresno State have its biggest lead. There were seven ties and seven lead changes in the contest.

The final run came in the final 10 minutes when the score was tied at 55. The Bulldogs then scored nine of the next 11 points to lead 64-57 after a layup by Ross with 4:41 left in the game. Louisiana Tech got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

During the final minutes of the game coach Wiggins wanted to let Filipe and Ross take and over and he said he was pleased with how they responded.

"It was one of the few times specifically where wanted to highlight them at the end of the game," Wiggins said. "We wanted them to have the ball in the middle of the floor and let them make decisions. They just did a really good job. Their execution and patience was great. They looked really good."

Fresno State led 37-35 at halftime and shot 43 percent in the first half.

Fresno State returns to the floor to host Boise State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game will be live on ESPNU and heard on 790 ESPN Radio. For ticket information log onto gobulldogs.com.

"We Are Your Team" - The `Dogs continue WAC play Wednesday night as the Boise State Broncos come to the Save Mart Center at 8 p.m. It's Faculty/Staff Night and all Fresno State faculty/staff will receive FREE admission with ID and can also receive $2 admission for up to four guests. The game will also be broadcasted on ESPNU. Tickets can be purchased through the Save Mart Center Box Office, by calling 559-485-TIXS or through Ticketmaster.com. .