Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
1-0
Utah
0-2
Bulldogs Capture First Win 61-55 Over Utah
11/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2006
Fresno, Calif. - Andrea Roberson's drive into the paint with two minutes left gave the Bulldogs a 56-53 lead, and Tierre Wilson hit a late free throw to give the Bulldogs a four-point lead which the Bulldogs closed out with free throws to get their first win of the season. Chantella Perera led the way for the Bulldogs, scoring 23 points and shooting 11-12 from the line, including two in the last 20 seconds to ice the win.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 17-23 from the charity stripe, and their pressure defense proved to be the difference between the two teams, as the Bulldogs forced 23 turnovers and made 14 steals, led by Jasmine Marshall who had 5.
"I thought that Utah really defended us well," said head coach Adrian Wiggins. "I feel that the turning point was when we started posting up our guards in the second half, which brought us out to a little lead. Then, at the end of the game, we got stops, rebounds, and free throws, which was the key."
Fresno State opened the game with a quick run, winning the opening tipoff, and moving down for a three from Wilson, which the team followed with a Brittany Green two in the corner for an early 5-0 lead. The early scoring spurt was followed by a long dry spell for both teams, as that score would hold through the opening five minutes.
Over the next four minutes, Utah recovered on the strength of strong foul shooting and a two from sophomore guard Morgan Warburton to recover to tie the game prior to the 10-minute mark.
Staying one step ahead of the Utes, the Bulldogs regained the lead with another quick turnaround. Wilson started the run, taking a steal at halfcourt all the way back for a layup, and following a Utah offensive foul, the Bulldogs found Marshall at the corner of the key for another two.
Utah answered back with a run of their own, as a three-pointer from Morgan Warburton gave the Utes their first lead of the game at 15-13. That led to a spate of three pointers, as Perera hit one for the Bulldogs, followed by another trade by Warburton and Wilson.
Following that offensive output, the game opened up offensively for both teams, but the game remained tight. The Bulldogs finished off the half on a high note, however, as Marshall stole the Utah inbounds pass following a turnover and made a quick pass to Andrea Roberson for an easy layup, leading to a 25-22 tally at the break.
Again opening the half quickly, Fresno State recovered from a Utah jumper to start the half with two Perera free throws, and then an Andrea Roberson steal and layup with a foul led to 30-24 lead for the Bulldogs. In another swing, Utah scored eight unanswered to take the lead back at 32-30.
A Roberson three-pointer stopped the Utes run, and Fresno State started one of their own, following that with another three from Perera, and a steal by that was sent back to her from Marshall for a quick layup as the Bulldogs moved out to 44-37 lead, their largest of the game.
After that 9-0 Fresno State run, Utah regained the momentum following a Joh-Teena Flipe three pointer, recovering their shooting touch and tying the game at 46 with just over seven minutes remaining.
