Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
<li>UTEP
Shooting Woes Continue, Bulldogs Fall At UTEP 45-38
2/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2004
EL PASO, Texas- UTEP's second-half shooting effort propelled the Miners to a 45-38 victory over Fresno State on Thursday night in front of 3,107 fans at the Don Haskins Center.
Both squads struggled from the field all night, with UTEP shooting 16-49 (32.7-percent) compared to Fresno State's 12-54 (22.2-percent) clip. In addition, each team endured a scoreless spell of at least seven minutes in the game. The difference came in the second half, when UTEP shot 47.6-percent to Fresno State's 26.9-percent.
Fresno State (8-14, 2-10 WAC) has now failed to shoot better than 37-percent in eight consecutive games. The Bulldogs were led by senior Mindy Clark (La Habra, Calif.), who totaled nine points to go with a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Chantella Perera (Wantirna, Victoria, Australia) added a career-high eight points and junior Aritta Lane (Aiea, Hawaii) also chipped in with eight.
UTEP (12-9, 7-5 WAC) was led by Angie McGee's 11 points, while teammate Ana Valtierra scored 10.
UTEP quickly built a 10-0 first-half lead before Fresno State scored its first two points of the game, courtesy of two free throws by Clark with 14:21 left in the period.
In fact, the Bulldogs misfired on their first 16 shots of the game and did not register a field goal until the 7:05 mark of the first half following a lay-up by Lane to make it 12-4.
Fresno State's scoring drought turned into a distant memory at that point, as UTEP failed to record a field goal over the final 13:23 of the first half. A single free throw from Marta Dydek represented the Miners' only score during the stretch, while the Bulldogs closed out the period on an 11-1 scoring run. Perera's triple with just over one minute remaining gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 15-13.
The 'Dogs opened the second half by scoring the first five points, upping their lead to 21-13 with 16:20 to play.
UTEP battled back and eventually regained the lead at 24-23 after a basket from Noni Wharemate. A three-pointer by McGee stretched the Miners' lead to 33-27 with 8:01 on the clock.
The Bulldogs then countered with an 8-2 run that knotted the game at 35-35. Clark played an important role during the scoring stretch, tallying six points and knocking down two free throws to tie the game.
The Miners proved to be too much down the stretch however, as Valtierra ignited a game-ending 10-3 UTEP run with two free throws and a three-pointer.
Fresno State concludes its road trip on Saturday against Boise State at 1 p.m. PST.
