Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Loyola Marymount
Bulldogs Home Win Streak Snapped Against Loyola Marymount
12/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2006
Fresno, Calif. - Down three at the half, Fresno State was never able to regain the lead despite a furious late comeback and fell against Loyola Marymount Thursday 65-60. The Lions shot 43.6 percent on the night, and were 6-10 from behind the arc as the Bulldogs never found a good rhythm. The team was led by Chantella Perera with 13 points.
"Obviously we're disappointed in tonight's game," said Fresno State head coach Adrian Wiggins. "Give Loyola Marymount a lot of credit, though. They played really hard tonight."
Fresno State opened the game with a quick flurry. The Bulldogs Jenny Thigpin started the game with a jumper, and a flashy behind-the-back pass from Tierre Wilson to Brittani Green led to another easy basket to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-0. The Bulldogs controlled the early pace of the game but missed some layups as well as four early free throws and were only able to open up a 6-2 lead until Kavita Goss hit a three to get the Lions back in the thick of things.
The Bulldogs moved out to an 11-5 lead, their largest of the game with 12:20 remaining behind a putback by Andrea Roberson, but Loyola Marymount would put together an 11-0 run helped by the first of three Amanda Patton 3-pointers to go ahead 16-11. Fresno State tied the game at 16 all, but Goss hit a second three pointer and the Lions would never relinquish the lead.
Heading into the half down three points, the Bulldogs and the Lions traded shots through the first five minutes of the half, but cold shooting from Tierre Wilson continued to plague the Bulldogs, and as the second half progressed, Loyola Marymount stretched their lead to as big as 16 points as Wilson started the game 1-11 from the field.
Increasing their defensive pressure late, the Bulldogs pulled back into contention from down 12 points with 5:13 remaining. The Bulldogs continued to create steals and finally made some baskets to cut the lead first down to seven, and finally down to four as Wilson hit her first three of the night with 10 seconds left. The Lions held off the late run with solid free throw shooting down the stretch, hitting 11-14 on the night.
Brittani Green had a double-double for the Bulldogs on the night, scoring 11 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and Chantella Perera had 13 points to lead the `Dogs in scoring. Fresno State returns to action on Dec. 30, traveling to Malibu to face Pepperdine at 2 p.m.
