Fresno State Women Clinch 1st NCAA Tournament Bid www.gobulldogs.com 16 Mar 2008 LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - For the first time in the school's 43 year history the Fresno State women's basketball team will be going to the NCAA tournament after beating New Mexico State 72-56 in the championship game of the WAC tournament on Saturday. "We had a wonderful time in Las Cruces and obviously I am very proud of our team right now," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said. "Tonight we were able to get some shots that were makeable and rebound very well." The Bulldogs had three players in double figures led by Jaleesa Ross' 20 points, Tierre Wilson's 17 and Bailey Amundsen's 11. Fresno State out rebounded New Mexico State 49-29 and shot 43 percent from the field. Erica Henry had a game-high 13 rebounds while Hayley Munro had 11. The Bulldogs are now 22-10 and have won 20 of their last 22 games after a 2-8 start to the season. Nineteen of the Dogs 22 wins have been by 10 points or more. According to the team the turning point in the season came after a tough 11 point loss at Saint Mary's on December 12. After the defeat Wilson and Henry told the team to not get discouraged and that winning a WAC championship was still possible. "They were upset but very encouraging," Wiggins said. "They said we were 0-6 but we have bigger goals than the preseason. We had goals and I knew we could win some games in our league. I remember the seniors started yelling in a constructive way. For them to speak up and to take ownership of what we are doing speaks volumes. We all wanted to do it the same way. That was big and it was a turning point for us in the season." After the 2-8 start the Bulldogs beat every opponent but three by 10 points or more and in the WAC tournament the average margin of victory was 18 points. Emma Andrews was named to the 2008 WAC All-Tournament team. In three games she averaged 12 points and career highs of 16 points against San Jose State and Louisiana Tech. Full Story

WAC Final Standings Fresno State Boise State New Mex. State Nevada Louisiana Tech Hawaii Utah State Idaho San Jose State 14-2 14-2 11-5 9-7 9-7 6-10 5-11 3-13 1-15   Next for Fresno State: NCAA Tournament WAC Tournament Central

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