Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Francisco
Late Free Throws Sink Women's Basketball
12/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO - Fresno State rebounded from a 13-point halftime deficit, but Toni Russell's two free throws with four seconds remaining lifted San Francisco to a hard-fought 69-67 victory over the Bulldogs at War Memorial Gymnasium. The loss drops FS's record to 5-3 while the Lady Dons improve to 4-3.
The Bulldogs, who played from behind nearly the entire night, scraped their way back into the game with inspired second half efforts from Tiffany Simon and Omelogo Udeze. Trailing 40-27 at intermission, Fresno State commenced the second half with a 6-0 run. Buoyed by strong rebounding and suffocating defense, the Bulldogs contined to whittle away at USF's advantage until they took their first lead of the game on a Simon layup with 8:29 to go.
Both teams volleyed the lead back and forth until the 4:30 mark, when USF's Lisa Whiteside banked in a layup to give the Lady Dons a 59-58 lead. San Francisco never trailed the rest of the way, but the game did not lack for drama.
The Lady Dons led 63-58 with 1:24 to go when Veronica Mack, seeing her most consistent playing time of the season, hit a 23-foot three-pointer to slice the edge to two. After making the first half of a one-and-one, USF's Carey Sauer missed the second, but Russell scrambled to pick up the loose ball and was fouled with one minute left. She also made the front end of a one-and-one to make it 65-61.
But an Udeze three-pointer on the other end trimmed it to 65-64 with 49 ticks left. After two San Francisco free throws, Mack again hit another long three-pointer, this one tying the contest at 67-67 with 20 seconds remaining. The shot capped a big night for Mack, who scored a career-high 12 points off the bench.
That set up the dramatic last possession for USF, which came into tonight's game with confidence after knocking off Washington and California in its last two games. The Lady Dons worked the ball around in an effort to get a final shot, but the ball was knocked free by Fresno State and was heading for the sideline. Both Russell and FS's Mindy Clark hustled for the loose ball, but in the scramble Clark was whistled for a foul with four seconds left. Russell then went to the line and calmly drilled both free throws.
The Bulldogs did get one last good shot at tying it, but Simon's 18-footer from the top of the key glanced off the rim to end the game.
"All you can ask for as a coach is to get a good chance on your last possession, and we got that," head coach Britt King said. "Tiffany [Simon] had a good look, but the shot just didn't drop. But I was very proud of the way our players bounced back after trailing like we did. We showed we can play with a quality team like San Francisco."
Despite the loss, several Bulldogs had big performances. Udeze had 20 points and 16 rebounds, her second consecutive double-double, after having only five and four, respectively, in the first half. Simon also exploded in the second half, scoring 14 of her season-high 18 points.
And in yet another in a string of impressive performances, freshman Aritta Lane pulled down 18 rebounds, just two away from Fresno State's single-game record of 20, held by Yvette Roberts and Stacey Cornaggia.
Alicia Hernandez paced the Lady Dons with 17 points, including 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half. Lindsey Huff added 11.
Defense was a key to the night for both teams. FS wound up shooting just 35 percent from the floor, while USF hit on only 34 percent of its shots, including a woeful 2-for-22 to start the second half. The Bulldogs also finished with a season-high 25 turnovers while San Francisco committed 21.
Fresno State will look to rebound Saturday against another West Coast Conference opponent, Santa Clara. Game time is 7 p.m. in the North Gym.
