Women's basketball vs. softball?

Listening to the final seconds tick down as the Fresno State women's b-ball team beat Nevada for the WAC tourney championship on Saturday, I couldn't help but let out a "WOO!"

This is an exciting bunch of Lady Bulldogs, and coach Adrian Wiggins is a genuine guy -- the type of guy who's easy to root for because he seems to be rooting for everyone else around town just as much. And hey, the 'Dogs are going dancing for the second straight year -- after never having gone to an NCAA Tournament in school history before. Take that Stacy Johnson-Klein...

Now to the whole point. A friend of mine brought up an interesting question this week when he said he never thought he'd see the day Fresno State's women's hoops team was better than its softball team. My reply: "Is it better?"

While Margie Wright's softball team has been a big disappointment so far in this young season, many Red Wavers are shaking in their cleats hoping the team's nation-best consecutive NCAA Regionals streak continues this year (Fresno State is the only school in the country to make every NCAA tournament -- ever)! But, superhero pitcher Morgan Melloh is battling a sophomore slump of inconsistency and the team's offense is, well, pathetic. We here at The Bulldog Bounce knew losing Jenna Cervantez and Aja Schuber would hurt -- but we didn't realize it would be this bad.

Last year, Fresno State finished 54-13. So far this year, the Bulldogs are 14-12.

But if you're thinking it's obvious the women's basketball team is more successful right now, not so fast. Let's consider the softball team plays a juggernaut of a schedule, with top 25 teams in at least 50% of its games so far. The women's hoops squad plays a decent non-conference slate, but then strolled through the dreadful WAC, which isn't much of a conference since Louisiana Tech's fall from grace.

Consider this, if winning the WAC was all that on a national scale, why has Fresno State been seeded 13th and 14th in the past two NCAA tourneys?

So Red Wave, you tell us. Which program is more successful today -- women's basketball or softball? And why?

Pack (four sections of) The House

Yeah, so Fresno State's "Pack The House" women's basketball promotion didn't go over so well. Only about four sections of the arena could be considered packed (attendance was announced at 2,509).

But 3/4 of the Bulldog Bounce crew showed, with a few take-away points we'd like to list:

--Where were you guys? Tom Brandstater, Marlon Moore, Moses Harris and Damion Owens all showed up.

--All those nerdy fans who used to flock to the arena just to see Stacy Johnson-Klein stomp around putting dents in the hardwood with her leather boot heels would probably be just as happy as fans of director of basketball operations Kelsi Bond.

--Hawaii has dislikeable players in women's sports too! We've experienced plenty of uncalled for taunting and cheap shotting from former Warriors/Rainbows/Wahine in Anthony Carter, that one men's guard a few years ago who looked like Ellen and most of the football team -- and now this. Ebony Jones, at 6-foot-1, flagrantly shoves Fresno State's Emma Andrews (who would have a tough time passing the heighth test at Magic Mountain (seriously) onto the floor, drawing a technical foul.

--And most importantly, the 'Dogs women put on a great show. They play hard, drive to the basket, seem like good teammates and have a bunch of impact freshmen. Oh, and Tierre Wilson rivals Mirenda Swearengin as the most impressive women's player in school history. She might be able to start alongside Kevin Bell for the men's team (they do need a replacement for academically ineligible Bryan Harvey now right?)...