Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Boise State Sneaks Past Women's Basketball 79-76
1/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. - Boise State shot 59 percent in the second half and received huge nights from Crista Peterson and Mandy Welch on its way to a surprise 79-76 victory over Fresno State at the North Gym. The loss drops the Bulldogs to 7-9 (2-4 WAC) while the Broncos' breakthrough improves them to 5-12 (1-6 WAC).
Both teams battled tooth and nail from the opening tip, with neither holding a lead of larger than seven the entire game. In a harbinger of things to come, the contest was tied eight different times in the first half. The Bulldogs had a five-point lead with 2:50 to go in the opening stanza, but BSU eventually tied it at 30-30 with one minute left and took a 32-31 advantage at the intermission.
Fresno State held the lead for the first part of the second half but was never able to put the Broncos away. Twice in the first 10 minutes, the Bulldogs held six-point leads but were never able to add on. At the 10:46 mark, Boise State came alive, outscoring Fresno State 21-8 over the next six minutes to go up 68-61 with 4:57 remaining. Peterson helped pace BSU during the run, scoring 10 of her game-high 26 points.
But behind Tiffany Simon, who had one of the biggest nights of her career, the Bulldogs fought their way back into it. A Simon three-pointer with 2:41 left tied the score at 71-71. The two teams then traded threes on their next possessions, and with 2:09 left it was still tied.
But FS was able to score only two points the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Broncos got a free throw and a 12-foot jumper from Peterson to go ahead 77-74 with one minute to go.
Fresno State had its chances to score with just under a minute left, but a Veronica Mack three-pointer was off the mark. The ball ended up back in the hands of the Bulldogs, and with 14 ticks remaining Lindsay Logan was fouled in the midst of attempting a three. But the WAC's second best free throw shooter made just two of three, and Boise State had the ball out of bounds with a 77-76 lead.
The Bulldogs fouled Welch on the inbounds play, and the Modesto, Calif., native produced as she had all evening, hitting both free throws. Attempts by Logan and Mack to tie the game in the closing seconds were off the mark, sending BSU onto the court in celebration at the sound of the final buzzer.
In addition to Peterson's 26 points, Welch had a career-high 24, including a 10-of-10 night at the free throw line. Camille Woodfield dished out a school-record 12 assists, and Boise State shot 50 percent, the best by a Fresno State opponent this year.
For the Bulldogs, Simon tied her career-high with 24 points. Mack added 14 while Omelogo Udeze and Lindsay Logan had 13 and 10, respectively.
"We didn't play consistent defense tonight," said head coach Britt King. "We let two players beat us. [Peterson and Welch] combined for 50 points. You just can't let two people beat you like we did."
Fresno State closes out its three-game WAC homestand Saturday against UTEP (3-11, 1-5 WAC). Tipoff is 4 p.m. at the North Gym.
