Vandals out

RENO, Nev. – Fresno State’s 3-point shooting was too much for Idaho as the Vandals fell to the top-seeded Bulldogs 80-66 in the semifinal round of the Western Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament Friday night at the Lawlor Events Center.

The Idaho (11-20) women advanced past the first round of the tournament for the first time since joining the conference but couldn’t compete with Fresno State’s long-range shooting.

The Bulldogs (27-5) went 13 of 28 from 3-point range (46.4 percent), while shooting just 26.4 percent from inside the arc (6 of 25). Idaho hit 34.3 percent of its shots.

Fresno State also outrebounded Idaho 59-43, including 26 offensive boards for 15 second-chance points. The 59 rebounds are a season high for the Bulldogs.

Junior Yinka Olorunnife led Idaho with 23 points while collecting seven rebounds. Sophomore Shaena Kuehu added 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and one assist.

Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting.

Idaho finishes the season with a fourth-place WAC finish after starting the year 2-11. The Vandals won seven of their final 11 games, including a WAC tournament quarterfinal victory over New Mexico State on Wednesday.

“It’s just tremendous for our program,” Idaho head coach Jon Newlee said of the team’s season finish. “I told (senior Charlotte Otero) in the locker room – I’m so proud of her.

“She had a fantastic two years (for Newlee) and she really helped lay the foundation for our progress and what we’ve done. There have been a lot of firsts in the last couple years for us. We’re going to try to continue and keep that going.”

Meanwhile, it’s back to the WAC tournament championship game for Fresno State.

The Bulldogs, on a 19-game winning streak, will play Louisiana Tech in the tournament title game, the third straight appearance in the championship contest for Fresno State.

“We are excited to be here,” Fresno State junior guard Ross said. “It is brand-new team on the floor for us. Everybody else has a different team this year. We have to keep everybody focused.”

The Bulldogs had three players who recorded double-doubles, led by Ross’ 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Rosie Moult had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Joh-Teena Filipe had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Hayley Munro just missed a double-double as she had 17 points and nine rebounds.

“It was a great effort,” Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. “Every time I looked around we were sharing the ball and running the floor really well. We had fast breaks that they didn’t complete but they were trying to and I think that was key for us today.”

A big factor in the Bulldogs’ victory was the team’s ability to get off to quick starts. Fresno State jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first 4 minutes and Idaho didn’t get its first points until the 15:40 mark. A few minutes later, Idaho cut the lead to 13-9 but the Bulldogs quickly made the next eight points to lead 21-9 with 10:47 left in the half after two free throws by Filipe.

“We had a gutsy performance,” Wiggins said. “From my perspective we just played a really good Idaho team. They have played so well lately. They are very well-coached and they just don’t quit. We got up 10-0 and they are still fighting. We make a run and they bring it back.

“It is a compliment to their character.”

Fresno State led 42-32 at halftime and scored the first nine points of the second half to lead 51-32 with 15:01 to play in the game.

Idaho didn’t get its first field goal until the 13:33 mark of the second half. By then the Bulldogs had 54-37 lead.

Idaho got no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Louisiana Tech 80, Nevada 77: Adrienne Johnson scored 29 points and Shanavia Dowdell added 24 points to lead the Lady Techsters (22-8) over the Wolf Pack (17-15) in the other semifinal.