#1-ranked Fresno got 25 pts and 15 rebs from Ctr Sumiya Darden in a 71-52 win over visiting Merced Wednesday night in CVC action.
Darden had game-high totals in both points and rebounds, and PG Blakely Goldberg added 13 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts and 4 steals as the Rams built a 40-point lead early in the second half and cruised to the win.
Neither Darden nor Goldberg started the game, almost as if Fresno wanted to lull Merced into a false sense of confidence early on before the onslaught.
If that was the plan, it worked to perfection. Merced took a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game.
And then came the onslaught. As soon as Darden and Goldberg entered the game, Fresno went on a 14-0 run to take a 14-4 lead, with Darden scoring the Rams' first 7 points.
Merced then got baskets from PG Lashari Clayborne and SF Courtney Whitehurst to rally, cutting the Fresno lead to six points at 14-8.
But then came another run, this one a 10-0 spurt, that put Fresno in complete control. The lead reached 21 points after a driving lay-up by Darden with just over five minutes left in the first half.
Then Darden made a Kobe-like shot with just over a minute left in the half, drawing contact in the lane and flinging up a one-hander towards the basket in anticipation of a foul call. No whistle came, but the ball went into the basket to make it 41-19. Then SG Kayla Clement made a 3-pointer and SF Jasmine Noldon made one of two free throws, and Fresno led by 26 points at 45-19 at the break.
And if there was any remaining doubt as to the game's outcome entering the second half, Fresno went on an 18-4 run to start the half, pushing the lead to 40 points at 63-23 before Merced made a field goal over the first eight minutes of the half.
To Merced's credit, they kept playing hard despite the score and finished the game on a 29-8 run to cut the final margin to 19 points. But that's as close as they got, and Fresno's win was never in doubt.
Darden and Goldberg were the only players from Fresno to score in double digits, though PF Amber Ricks had 8 pts on 4-for-4 from the floor.
For Merced, Whitehurst and SG Alyssa Wright each had 12 pts, and Clayborne had 10.
box score
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 5 pm
at Fresno City College
Central Valley Conference - Women
Merced 52:
1-Lashari Clayborne, PG - 3/10 fg, 4/6 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 10 pts
2-Raschel Blackwell, SF - 1/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 3 pts
13-Dalemesha Hill, PF - 0/1 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
20-Courtney Whitehurst, SG - 5/11 fg, 2/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 12 pts
33-Linda Murray, C - 3/3 fg, 2/9 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 8 pts
15-Alyssa Wright, G - 2/8 fg, 7/9 ft, 1 reb, 1 pf, 12 pts
21-Porsha Grayson, G - 0/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 pt
23-Rebecca Morris, F - 0/2 fg, 8 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
3-Olivia Andan, C - 1/3 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 pts
10-Ashley Gaither, G - 1/4 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 16/48 fg (.333), 19/38 ft (.500), 38 reb, 7 ast, 3 blk, 8 stl, 16 pf, 52 pts
3-pt fg (1): Wright
Turnovers (24): Clayborne 6, Wright 5, Blackwell 4, Gaither 3, Murray 2, Hill, Whitehurst, Grayson, team
Fresno 71:
14-Lacey Gibbons, PF - 2/11 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
22-Korin Macias, SG - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
24-Marlee Wilkinson, PG - 2/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 6 pts
25-Jasmine Noldon, SF - 1/4 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 3 pts
34-Katrina Del Rosario, C - 2/3 fg, 3 reb, 1 blk, 4 pf, 4 pts
12-Blakely Goldberg, G - 5/11 fg, 2/2 ft, 6 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl, 4 pf, 13 pts
31-Sumiya Darden, C - 10/20 fg, 5/8 ft, 15 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 25 pts
4-Kayla Clement, G - 2/4 fg, 4 reb, 3 pf, 6 pts
3-Amber Ricks, F - 4/4 fg, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 8 pts
21-Vanessa Gomez, G - 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
33-Candace Gandolfo, G - 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 28/63 fg (.429), 12/18 ft (.667), 43 reb, 17 ast, 3 blk, 14 stl, 29 pf, 71 pts
3-pt fg (3): Clement 2, Goldberg
Turnovers (21): Goldberg 6, Noldon 5, Gibbons 2, Darden 2, Ricks 2, Macias, Wilkinson, Gandolfo, team
Halftime Score: Fresno 45, Merced 19
Updated Records: Fresno (#1-North, #8-Calif) 14-6 overall, 1-0 in CVC; Merced 7-12 overall, 0-1 in CVC
Fresno led by 40 early in the second half
