Bryan Cole / The Collegian

’Dogs overpowered by Cal in Fresno State’s second trip to ‘Big Dance’

LOS ANGELES – Even with the loss, the Bulldogs can leave with pride.

For the second straight year, the Fresno State women̢۪s basketball team has won the WAC and made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but the outcomes of both tournament games were similar.

Coach Adrian Wiggins and his team were again defeated but still leave with their heads held high.

“I have a lot of enthusiasm inside of me because I understand where we’re heading,â€Â Wiggins said. “It just doesn’t feel good to not get there today.â€Â

Game of missed opportunities

The Bulldogs couldn̢۪t keep up with California in the opening round, losing 70-47 Saturday in the Galen Center on the USC campus.

The game was plagued with missed shots and missed chances for the Bulldogs. Fresno State only shot 32 percent from the floor and missed multiple shots in the paint.

“We missed a lot of layups,â€Â Wiggins said. “A missed layup will deflate you as much as a hit three or a dunk will inflate you. We had too many opportunities that we missed.â€Â

Guard Jaleesa Ross was one Bulldog shooter that was unable to find her touch, especially in the first half. The two-time WAC Tournament MVP had zero points in the first half, finishing with eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.

Through her shooting drought, teammates and coaches continued to encourage Ross to fire away.

“We just said ‘keep shooting.’ We’ve all been there before,â€Â point guard LaShay Fears said. “We knew that she could knock down the next one or the next one.â€Â

Fears, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara, led the ̢۪Dogs with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting in her first NCAA Tournament game. She was able to penetrate on the Golden Bears̢۪ defense and scored the majority of her points on driving layups.

‘Cal did their homework’

Wiggins felt that California knew that his team would look to shoot three-pointers to stay in the game and forced the Bulldogs to settle for shots they didn̢۪t want.

“Cal did their homework really well,â€Â Wiggins said. “They did a great job of denying the perimeter and trying to stop us from shooting threes.â€Â

Bryan Cole / The Collegian

And on the defensive end of the floor, Cal̢۪s post players created mismatches for the Bulldogs. The Bears had two true post players in Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton.

Walker finished with a game-high 21 points.

Walker, 6-foot-1, and Hampton, 6-foot-3, had considerable size advantages on the Bulldogs̢۪ front line, but Cal coach Joanne Boyle was impressed with Wiggins̢۪ game plan to offset the mismatch.

“He does a great job of playing the chess match and trying to counter,â€Â Boyle said.

Forward Joh-Teena Filipe was matched on Walker for much of the night. Filipe and forward Hayley Munro both battled throughout the game in the low-post and helped the Bulldogs out-rebound Cal 38-36.

“It was very frustrating, but I felt like we did a great job of just staying in there,â€Â Filipe said. “Not one of us gave up.â€Â

Wiggins wants team to learn from disappointment

The game was considerably frustrating for Fresno State, but even in defeat, Fears was able to find positives and appreciate the season as a whole.

“We lost today, but we can still appreciate the fact that we won 24 games,â€Â Fears said. “We were WAC champs and we did accomplish good things in that run.â€Â

That run isn̢۪t over just yet for the back-to-back WAC champs. The team loses only three seniors and no starters.

Bryan Cole / The Collegian

And the two losses in the NCAA Tournament will surely motivate this team in the future.

“These past two experiences in the NCAAs have showed us what we need to do in the offseason to be able to come back and compete with teams like that,â€Â Ross said.

Wiggins said that this game exposed some of his team̢۪s weaknesses, but as a teacher, he looks forward to coaching his team to overcome them.

“We are getting close, we’re just not quite there yet,â€Â Wiggins said.