Women's Basketball Preview

By Darrell Copeland III
and Jeff Christian
The Collegian

The Lady Bulldogs will get its first chance to knock off the conference frontrunner when the Broncos travel to the Save Mart Center on Saturday.

The biggest challenge Fresno State faces is trying to sustain energy as the team returns from its most grueling road trip of the season. The Bulldogs could be playing on fumes after returning from Hawaii early Friday morning.

The Bulldogs will rely heavily on its bench players to maintain intensity and keep the pressure on.
On the offensive end, Tierre Wilson and Chantella Perrera will need to be lights out from the outside and also look to attack the basket and get teammates easy buckets inside.

Defensively, the Bulldogs will need to keep the Broncos out of the paint and off the free-throw line.

Limiting the Broncos to low-percentage outside shots will be the key for the Fresno State defense.
The Boise State women’s basketball team has been the surprise team in the WAC this season.

Guard Jessica Thompson and center Michelle Hessing lead the Broncos offensive attack. Boise State will try to use its deep bench to wear down the Bulldogs; the Broncos have nine players averaging over 10 minutes per game. The team hasn’t had any trouble finding the bottom of the net as the Broncos have scored over 80 points in three of its last five games. The Broncos dominance has been further displayed in its last two games, both of which were 25-point-plus blowout victories.

The Broncos will look to work its offense inside and get to the free-throw line. Boise State makes up for its poor free-throw percentage, 69.6, by getting to the line more often than its opponents. On the season, the Broncos have made 367 free-throws and its opponents have shot 387.

Comment on this story in the Sports forum >>