Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
2-0
BYU
2-2
Fresno State Stuns No. 18 BYU 61-51
11/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2006
Fresno, Calif. - A late Tierre Wilson three-pointer and a huge block from Erica Henry keyed an 8-0 run to finish the game as Fresno State defeated No. 18 BYU 61-51 in front of 3144 enthusiastic fans. Chantella Perera finished the game with 21 points for the Bulldogs, as the team improved to 2-0 on the season.
Fresh off of a win over No. 4 Stanford in the preseason WNIT, BYU came to the Save Mart Center with a Top 25, ranking, a mark that has not held well for Fresno State, as the team had not defeated a top 25 opponent since 1992, when No. 25 Long Beach State came to Fresno and lost by a point in an overtime battle. This game would not be as close, as Fresno State pushed down the accelerator on a Cougars team playing their second game in as many days.
"BYU is a very established program, and one that we are striving to be looked at in the same way," said head coach Adrian Wiggins. "Because of that, I'm very proud of how we played and pleased with the win. I thought we played well, and I thought that we really rebounded well."
The Bulldogs jumped out to their first lead of the game immediately, taking the opening tip and sending the ball down low to Jenny Thigpin, who drew a foul and made the shot to put Fresno State ahead 3-0. BYU took back the lead quickly, but a Chantella Perera three-pointer and gave Fresno State back a 10-6 lead. BYU would fight back on top one more time in the first half, but using more hot shooting from Perera and solid work on the block from Thigpin and Andrea Roberson, the team would move back in fron 21-19 at the 6:11 mark.
Taking a 28-25 lead into the break, the Bulldogs had relied on great play from Perera, who was 3-3 for three in the first half, leading the way with 15 points. "Tella obviously had an outstanding first half," said Wiggins. "I thought that the team really caught on with her play as the game went on. Her effort on the court is very contagious."
Coming out of the half, Fresno State again picked up the intensity, and with an early 7-0 run, Fresno State opened a 35-27 lead with 16:30 remaining after Tierre Wilson brought back a steal in the backcourt for an easy layup. However, proving that they wouldn't quit, BYU made three three-pointers in consecutive trips to pull within one at 37-36 and sparking their way to a 41-41 tie. That was the Cougars lone hot streak on a cold-shooting night from behind the arc, however, as BYU would make just one other three of the 23 total that they shot for a 17.4 percentage.
Fresno State turned back that last challenge, and would hold the lead for the remainder of the game, as Wilson hit a three pointer at 10:10 to break the tie, and the team really run and force turnovers, holding onto the lead and extending it to 51-45. BYU cut the lead to two at 53-51 with 2:04 remaining, but Wilson hit one more three pointer to put the `Dogs back up by five, and after two Perera free throws, Erica Henry grabbed the ball off Dani Wright low-post attempt, and the Bulldogs would hit from the line for the remainder to seal the win.
The Bulldogs return to action on Tuesday, hosting UC Irvine as the lead game of a basketball double-header with the men on Tuesday. The game will start at a special time of 6 p.m. at the Save Mart Center. With high expectations for the 2006-07 Bulldog basketball seasons, fans will be able to take advantage of unprecedented ticket options for Fresno State men's and women's basketball. The Fresno State athletics department introduced four different mini-plans for the season. Three, five, seven and 10-game packages will be offered. Visit gobulldogs.com for details on the various ticket plans and specials.
