Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Manhattan
Bulldog's 68-59 Win Made In Manhattan
12/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2004
MANHATTAN- Fresno State (7-1) received outstanding efforts from its reserves on Friday night in a 68-59 road victory over Manhattan (4-3) at Draddy Gymnasium.
Leading the charge was freshman Tierre Wilson (Lawton, Okla.), who was making her collegiate debut after missing the first seven games of the year following surgery to repair shin splints. Wilson scored 12 points on 5-8 shooting in 19 minutes of playing time. She replaced Jasmine Plummer (Natomas, Calif.) on a substitution at the 14:09 mark of the first half. Her first official shot attempt- a jumper from the right side of the free throw line- was good.
Freshman Kendra Walker-Roche (Brockville, Ontario, Canada), scored a career-high 11 points that included three three-pointers. Plummer also chipped in with 11 points. Fresno State's bench accounted for 54 of the team's 68 points.
Fresno State shot a season-high 48-percent and connected on 8 of 16 three-point attempts. The Bulldogs were outrebounded 33-30 by the Jaspers, who were led by Serra Sangar's 20 points.
A put-back from Sangar to open the game gave the Jaspers a 2-0 lead- their only advantage of the contest.
Leading 10-5, Fresno State embarked on a 9-2 scoring run to increase its lead to 19-7 following two free throws from Chantella Perera (Wantirna, Victoria, Australia) with 7:30 on the clock.
The Bulldogs relied on their bench for the majority of the first half, as the non-starters accounted for 25 of the 34 points. The Jaspers aided the Bulldogs by committing 18 turnovers in the first 20 minutes and 25 overall.
Manhattan whittled Fresno State's first-half lead down to six on two-different occasions, but the Bulldogs answered back both times. However, the knockout punch for Manhattan may have come at the end of the first half. After the Jaspers scored six straight points to cut the Bulldog's lead to 25-19, Fresno State ripped off a 9-2 run that was highlighted by Faith Probst (Rowville, Victoria, Australia) ending the first half on a successful buzzer-beater from just behind the half-court line.
The Jaspers opened the second half with a 13-4 scoring burst, cutting Fresno State's lead to 38-34 with 15:37 remaining.
Two minutes later, Manhattan had cut the lead to three at 43-40 after a lay-up from Donnette Reed. The Jaspers continued to hang close with the Bulldogs over the next seven minutes thanks mainly to the play of Aubrie Dellinger, who totaled eight points during the stretch. Dellinger's two free throws at the 4:25 mark brought Manhattan to within 59-56.
Fresno State responded with back-to-back transition buckets to extend its lead to 63-56 and never looked back.
The Bulldogs conclude their road trip on Monday, Dec. 20, with a contest at Long Island at 4 p.m. PST.
FRESNO STATE-MANHATTAN GAME NOTES:
- The Bulldogs have now won six straight road games, dating back to last season when the team won its final three away from Fresno. In fact, Fresno State's last road loss came in a 45-38 defeat to UTEP in El Paso on Feb. 12, 2004.
- Freshman Kendra Walker-Roche and sophomore Angelica Lopez are two Bulldog student-athletes with ties to the New York area. Walker Roche, who hails from nearby Brockville, Ontario, Canada, and Lopez, who was born in the Bronx, will both be playing in front of family and friends during Fresno State's two-game East Coast road trip. Assistant coach Drew Champagne is a native of Norwich, Ct.
- Manhattan, which plays its home games in the 2,500-seat Draddy Gymnasium, has not played in front of a home crowd larger than 525.
- Sophomore Jasmine Plummer scored Fresno State's first basket in both halves.
- Junior Faith Probst is now 11-11 from the charity stripe, leading a group of four Bulldogs who have yet to miss from the free throw line so far this year.
