Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
<li> Nevada
Women's Hoops Wins Fourth Straight, Tops Nevada 77-65
3/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2003
RENO- Aritta Lane's 16 second-half points sparked Fresno State to a 77-65 victory over Nevada on Sunday afternoon at the Lawlor Events Center. The victory was the Bulldog's fourth in a row, the first time the team has accomplished the feat since the 1994-95 campaign.
With the win, Fresno State improves to 16-10 overall and 10-6 in the WAC to remain in a tie with Rice for second place. Nevada drops to 10-16 and 3-13 in conference play. The Bulldogs' 16 victories are the most since the club finished the 1990-91 season with a 16-13 ledger.
Fresno State outscored the Wolf Pack 46-34 in the second half to secure the win. Nevada held the edge in shooting percentage at 56.6-percent to the Bulldog's 41.5, but also committed 28 turnovers.
Senior Omelogo Udeze (Los Angeles, Calif.) led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Lane with 16 and senior Lindsay Logan (Sandy, Utah) with 14.
After Mindy Clark (La Habra, Calif.) scored the first bucket of the game, Nevada responded with a 10-0 run that was capped off with a three-pointer by Amber Young. Logan followed by knocking down a triple of her own to break a three-minute scoring drought for the 'Dogs, but the Wolf Pack would increase their lead back to eight after a basket by Kate Smith to go up 15-7 with 14:36 remaining.
That's when the Bulldogs would make their run, scoring 10 of the next 12 points to even the contest at 17-17 with 10:21 to go after another Logan trifecta.
Both teams continued to trade baskets over the final 10 minutes of the first half, a stretch which featured eight ties. Nevada's Laura Ingham kept the Wolf Pack in the driver's seat, answering Fresno State scores on four different occasions with several off-balance jumpers.
The Bulldogs finally grabbed the lead back for the first time since the 19:26 mark after Logan drove to the hoop uncontested for a lay-up, giving Fresno State a 31-29 edge with 2:17 to play. However, Nevada's Shermeka Henry's basket to end the half once again deadlocked the game at 31-31 heading into intermission.
Nevada opened the second half by scoring five of the first seven points, extending its lead to 36-33 after a successful three-point play by Ingham. The Bulldogs continued to chip away at the lead but the Wolf Pack answered every Fresno State score.
However, the Bulldogs stuck with their inside game and the move paid off- with Lane enjoying the most success. The sophomore forward scored all of her 16 points in the second period, with the majority coming in the forms of lay-ups and routine put-backs.
After a three-point play by Lane tied the game at 44-44 with 16:04 remaining, Fresno State rattled off a 22-10 scoring run that spanned much of the second half. Two free throws by Logan gave the Bulldogs a 10-point advantage with 8:47 to play, but Nevada's April Banskston answered with a jumper to make it 62-54.
The 'Dogs then responded by scoring eight consecutive points, including two free throws from Omelogo Udeze to give Fresno State its biggest lead of the game at 70-54.
The Bulldogs play their final two regular season contests on the road this weekend, beginning with Tulsa on Thursday at 5 p.m. PST and Rice on Saturday at 5 p.m. PST. The 2003 WAC Tournament is scheduled for Mar. 11-15 in Tulsa.
