Bulldogs' fight not enough for win

Fresno State puts up a fight, but loses 71-58

By Darrell Copeland

A few weeks ago, the Fresno State women’s basketball team looked like a balloon rapidly leaking air and spiraling nowhere but down—fast.

But just before they hit the ground, the Bulldogs women gathered themselves coming on to win two out of its last three games. The third game was a loss, coming Saturday at the hands of Rice, a team tied for the Western Athletic Conference lead with sixth-ranked Louisiana Tech.

The Lady Owls (16-7, 13-1) defeated the Bulldogs (10-15, 4-11) by a score of 71-58.

The last time the two teams met, the Bulldogs went home licking their wounds, losing by 42 points, 97-55. This time around, the difference was 13 points, a plus of three points scored for the Bulldog offense, and a minus of 26 points allowed for the Bulldog defense.

But Fresno State head coach Stacy Johnson-Klein doesn’t look at the game as a loss.

“ To me on the inside, that wasn’t a loss,” Johnson-Klein said.

Already out of contention for a WAC title, Johnson-Klein just wants her team to show progress heading into the WAC tournament.

“ Going into this game, I just preached improvement,” Johnson-Klein said.

To her wish, the Bulldogs did show improvement, containing Rice’s scoring threats until mid-second half.

“ They’ve got a great backcourt, a great frontcourt and if you stop one, they’ll hit you with the other,” Johnson-Klein said.

Rice did exactly that, with backcourt freshman Lauren Neaves scoring 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while frontcourt player Lindsey Maynard scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

Early in the game, Bulldogs center Mindy Clark struggled, getting multiple shots blocked by Neaves. Enter Brittani Green, a 6-foot-2 freshman. Until now, Green has seen very limited playing time, but because of a first-half lapse by Clark, coupled with a good week of practice, Green found herself in the game.

Her first time touching the ball, Green faked Neaves out of her shoes, using pump fakes and a drop step to put the ball in the hole.

“ She just doesn’t play afraid,” Johnson-Klein said.

Motivated to win, Bulldog guard Veronica Mack, or “V,” as her teammates call her, also had a breakout game. Mack, who earlier this season was sent to the locker room with seven minutes left in the first half for poor play, played 37 minutes and scored 14 points.

What could cause such a dramatic turnaround for Mack?

“ Maybe it’s that I let my leader down, my coach down,” Mack said. “And I wanna show her that you shouldn’t doubt me, I’ll get it done for you.”

At least for one game, Johnson-Klein got Mack’s message.

“ She earned her starting spot back by the way,” Johnson-Klein said. “I told her that tonight.”

Whether or not the Bulldogs finish off the rest of the season with a perfect record, Johnson-Klein said she has reason to be proud.

“ Either way, I’m proud because of the way they’ve responded,” Johnson-Klein said.