No. 18 Arizona St. 79, Fresno St. 49

12/17/2007 3:18 PM

By ANDREW BAGNATO
AP Sports Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -With two losses in its last three games, Arizona State needed a confidence boost and got it against Fresno State.

The Sun Devils scored the first 15 points en route to a 79-49 rout of the Bulldogs on Monday.

ASU, which dropped to No. 22 in the latest AP poll, hopes it can carry momentum into a showdown with No. 19 Texas on Thursday night in Wells Fargo Arena.

``It's a good confidence-builder,'' said Sybil Dosty, who led ASU with 13 points and 11 rebounds. ``It's a good win to get and go hard at Texas.''

The Longhorns will be the last challenge in a nonconference schedule that featured four games against ranked teams and a visit to Texas Tech. The Sun Devils typically play a demanding schedule, but coach Charli Turner Thorne said ``this is the toughest one I've ever scheduled.''

Kirsten Thompson and Lauren Lacey each had 12 points for the Sun Devils (6-4), who shot 53.7 percent.

Bailey Amundsen scored 13 points and Tierre Wilson added 12 for Fresno State.

Arizona State improved to 5-1 at home, with the loss coming to then-No. 18 Auburn on Dec. 2. The Longhorns will present another tough test, but the Sun Devils say they're ready to defend their home court, where they are 59-6 in the last four-plus seasons.

``I think we do carry some momentum,'' Turner Thorne said. ``And I think we're going to be incredibly locked in for 40 minutes.''

The Sun Devils were locked in early against Fresno State (2-8). They scored the game's first 15 points, capped by Reagan Pariseau's 3-pointer. ASU shut out the Bulldogs for the first 5:34 and led 20-2 after 7 minutes.

But that's when the Sun Devils sagged. Instead of blowing out the Bulldogs, they let them back in the game.

``I'm waiting for us to have a little better killer instinct,'' Turner Thorne said. ``We just relaxed.''

The Bulldogs, coming off a 43-point victory over Cal State-Bakersfield, took advantage of ASU's sloppy play. Fresno State scored the last seven points of the first half to pull to 42-31 at halftime, and the Bulldogs briefly closed within nine points early in the second half before Arizona State pulled away.

Dosty, a junior transfer from Tennessee, went 5-for-5 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

The 6-foot-3 Dosty missed preseason drills with a knee injury and has slowly been gaining strength and confidence.

``I think her progress is nothing short of remarkable,'' Turner Thorne said. ``

The early game was part of a school-sponsored promotion to bring local youth to campus. They made up the majority of the crowd of 4,237, the largest this season, and they shrieked throughout the game.

``I love it, the energy they bring,'' ASU guard Briann January said.