Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
SMU
Late Comeback Leads SMU Past Women's Basketball 61-56
3/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2001
TULSA, Okla. - SMU went on a 13-2 run over the final 4:49 of the game and escaped past Fresno State 61-56 in the first round of the WAC tournament at the Reynolds Center. The Mustangs (17-11, 11-5 WAC) advance to the semifinals to take on the winner of the Hawai'i/Tulsa contest. The loss ends Fresno State's season with a 10-19 (6-10 WAC) mark.
The Bulldogs fell behind by six early but remained within striking distance the entire first half. Slowing down the pace whenever it had the opportunity, Fresno State kept WAC player of the year D-dra Rucker in check and played solid defense against WAC freshman of the year and three-point expert Andrea Cossey, who was just 1-for-6 in the first half and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. After trailing 24-16 with 8:15 left, the Bulldogs launched and offensive and defensive explosion, outscoring the Mustangs 14-0 the rest of the half, good for a 30-24 lead at the intermission.
Fresno State continued to set the pace of the game in the second half, eventually taking a 47-37 lead with 9 minutes 10 seconds to go. But the Mustangs started to cut into the advantage, reducing it to three with 5:31 to play. With 4:49 remaining, what turned out to be the biggest play of the game occurred - Omelogo Udeze picked up her fifth foul. The sophomore forward left the game with the Bulldogs clinging to a 52-48 lead.
Just as soon as Udeze fouled out, the Mustangs began their final surge to victory. It started with two free throws by Rucker, making it 52-50 Fresno State. Then Cossey nailed a three-pointer with 4:14 left, giving SMU its first lead since the two-minute mark of the first half. Cossey then hit two more free throws, increasing the advantage to 55-52. After the two teams traded one free throw each, Tiffany Simon made a layup in transition to bring FS within one at 56-55.
The score was 59-56 with 25 ticks left on the clock when Fresno State set up one last play. Instead of taking a three to tie the game, Simon elected to go for a layup with eight seconds left. Unfortunately, the shot was off the mark and was rebounded by SMU. The Mustangs hit two free throws with three seconds left to ice the victory.
Logan led the Bulldogs with 19 points and all three of the team's three-pointers. Simon chipped in 17, 16 of which came in the second half. Udeze added 13 points and 14 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season.
Rucker paced the Mustangs with 16 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Three other players scored in double figures for SMU - Andrea Cossey (13), Jackee Brown (10) and Christie McPeters (10).
Fresno State did set a WAC tournament record with 58 rebounds in the game. In addition to Udeze's 13, Simon tied her career high with nine.
