Story Published: Mar 13, 2010 at 8:26 AM PST
Story Updated: Mar 16, 2010 at 9:17 AM PST
The Idaho (11-20, 8-8 WAC) women advanced past the first round of the tournament for the first time since joining the league, but couldn’t hang with Fresno State’s (27-5, 16-0 WAC) hot hands from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs went 13-of-28 from 3-point range for a 46.4 percentage, while shooting just 26.4 percent from inside the arc. Idaho shot 34.3 percent overall, but hit just six of its 25 attempts from long range. Fresno State also out-rebounded Idaho by a 59-43 margin, including 26 offensive boards for 15 second-chance points.
Junior Yinka Olorunnife capped off her season by going for 23 points and seven rebounds to lead Idaho, while sophomore Shaena Kuehu added 17 points, seven boards, four steals and one assist. Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
The Bulldogs will move on to face the winner of the Nevada/Louisiana Tech game in Saturday’s final.
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 win 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.”
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