Fresno State Athletics
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Women's Hoops Drops 71-53 Decision To Nevada
1/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2004
RENO, Nev.- Fresno State's shooting woes continued on Saturday afternoon, as the Bulldogs shot under 32-percent overall from the field for the fourth straight game in a 71-53 loss at Nevada.
The Bulldogs, who have now lost seven in a row, fall to 7-12 overall and 1-8 in WAC play. Nevada snapped a six-game losing skid to move to 3-16 overall and 2-7 in league action.
Senior Mindy Clark (La Habra, Calif.) was the only Bulldog player to score in double figures, as she finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Brittani Green (Dallas, Texas) added nine points. Fresno State shot 30.4-percent from the field, while Nevada checked in at a 38.8-percent clip.
Fresno State outrebounded Nevada 48-40, but committed 20 turnovers to the Wolf Pack's 10. The Bulldogs were 18-30 from the charity stripe, while the Wolf Pack finished 13-16. More importantly, Fresno State was just 1-15 from three-point territory while Nevada connected on 6-19 chances.
Talisha Quick-Rath led all scorers with 15 to pace Nevada, while Jocelyn Mancebo added 13. Four Nevada players scored in double-figures.
After junior Cophie Moore (Arlington, Texas) knocked down one of two free throw attempts to begin the game, Nevada went up 3-1 following a three-pointer from Mancebo and led for the remainder of the first half.
In the first half alone, Fresno State went to the free throw line 22 times and held a 25-20 edge on the boards. Those two factors were not enough to keep Nevada from controlling the pace of the game, as the Wolf Pack stretched their lead to as many as 11 points with 1:24 remaining in the period.
Senior Chanie Sutherland (Odessa, Texas) knocked down a jumper to bring Fresno State within 16-14, until Nevada responded with a 10-2 run that was capped by a free throw from Jessica Preslar.
Trailing by double-digits for the first time at 26-16, the Bulldogs crept back to 28-23 following two free throws by freshman Paige Diggs (Amarillo, Texas). The Wolf Pack took a 36-29 lead into the break.
Little changed in the second half, as Fresno State would close to within nine points on three different occasions. Nevada maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, going up by as many as 17 points when April Bankston's 12-footer made it 61-44 with 7:31 left to play.
Five straight points by Fresno State allowed the Bulldogs to close within 61-51 with 5:16 remaining in the game. However, Nevada wrapped up the victory with a 10-2 scoring run over the final five minutes.
Fresno State returns to the Save Mart Center next weekend for a two-game homestand against No. 8 Louisiana Tech (Thursday, Feb. 5) and SMU (Saturday, Feb. 7).
