Matador of the Week: Women’s basketball’s Tess Amundsen

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Will Navarro

Women’s basketball’s Tess Amundsen, 15, is the Sundial’s Matador of the Week. Amundsen led the Matadors’ 81-75 victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs with 31 points and seven rebounds.

David Nunez, Reporter

Redshirt junior Tess Amundsen is this week’s Matador of the Week after leading the women’s basketball team to an 81-75 victory over her hometown college Fresno State, scoring 31 points and collecting seven rebounds along the way.

Amundsen did a standout job in every area on the floor and did it very efficiently. She shot 10-17 from the field, 4-7 from the 3-point range and 7-8 from the free-throw line.

“After you see one [shot] go in, you start getting confidence,” Amundsen said.

Although Amundsen had an individually great performance, she was more focused on her team’s success.

“My biggest focus was executing our plan together,” she said. “I think it’s all about the win.”

Amundsen has a long history of playing basketball in Fresno. Before college, she played at Clovis West High School. During her senior season, 2016-17, they were ranked ESPN’s top team in the nation and were named California State Team of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports.

“That level of play prepared me for college. It made it easier for me to step up,” she said.

Amundsen comes from a family that is very basketball-oriented. Amundsen wears No.15 because of her father, who played for Fresno Pacific University, and sister, who played for Fresno State.

“I model my game after my family, I play like my older brother and sister,” she said. “We all played basketball together and growing up with them helped me so much IQ-wise.”

Amundsen and the team were very excited after securing the win over Fresno State.

“We, of course, celebrated the big win, but we want to maintain our focus for the games we have coming up,” she said. “I’m super excited to play these really big teams, It’s going to be a great experience for us.”

Amundsen is confident in the team’s potential to succeed this season.

“My age and my experience along with the ability of my other teammates will help lead the way,” she said. “We have to win the championship, that’s all I know.”