Southern Miss
Fresno State
Women's Basketball Falls to Fresno State, 88-51
12/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2010
QUEENS, N.Y. - The Southern Miss women's basketball lost for the second time in two days, falling to Fresno State, 88-51.
The Lady Eagles continue to struggle shooting, finishing the game shooting 34.4 percent from the field. Rachel Vigers led the Lady Eagles with 18 points and Jamierra Faulkner added 15 points. Vigers and Geneshia Dunbar had nine rebounds apiece.
Jaleesa Ross led Fresno State with a game-high 28 points followed by Rosie Moult with 21. Hayley Munro chipped in 12 points.
"We hoped to get a victory today," Coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. "Going into the game, we knew this team had played in the NCAA Tournament last year and won over 20 games. This was a very veteran squad. We felt like it was going to be a mismatch both ways in that we would struggle guarding them, like they would struggle guarding us. Again, the shooting woes continued and we could not finish whether it was in transition or in our half court sets. The last three games, this team has struggled when we don't shoot well."
Frenso connected on 15-of-36 from behind the arc while USM did not hit a three-pointer, snapping a 167 consecutive game streak.
Frenso State jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Lady Eagles scored six straight points to take a 6-5 lead. For the next three minutes, the teams played evenly. With the score tied at 14-14 at the 11:18 mark, Frenso then scored 10 unanswered points in taking a 24-14 lead. Vigers converted on a three-point play to cut the lead to seven, 24-17, at the 6:12 mark. However, Fresno ended the half using a 16-2 run for a 40-19 lead at the half.
"Right now, the team as whole is disappointed and down on themselves," McNelis said. "I'm hopeful the break with help. The one player who has been a bright spot has been Rachel Vigers. She brings it every game and every day. She is this undersized post player that is tough as a rock. She is a special player."
The Bulldogs opened the second half scoring the first eight points, extending their lead to 48-19 and never looked back. Midway through the second half, the lead had swelled to 36.
Southern Miss will take time off for the Christmas Holiday and return to the court, Dec. 28, against Alabama.
