Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
18-5, 10-1WAC
<li> San Jose State
10-11, 5-5WAC
'Dogs Get Defensive; Rout San Jose State 63-41
2/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2006
SAN JOSE- Fresno State produced its best defensive performance of the year, holding San Jose State to just five second-half field goals in a convincing 63-41 victory on Saturday night at the Event Center.
Leading 30-25 at halftime, the Bulldogs outscored the Spartans 33-16 over the final 20 minutes and did not allow San Jose State to eclipse the 40-point mark until Brittany Imaku's lay-up with two seconds remaining.
With the win, Fresno State improves to 18-5 overall and remains tied for first place in the WAC at 10-1 with No. 23 Louisiana Tech. San Jose State drops to 10-11 overall and 5-5 in conference play.
The Bulldogs have won four in a row overall and stand four victories shy from matching the best single-season win total of 22. There are five regular-season games remaining before the WAC Tournament gets underway in less than a month.
Interim head coach Adrian Wiggins collected his 25th career victory in the process, improving to 25-9 since taking over the reigns of the program one year ago.
Chantella Perera was the game-high scorer with 20 points, knocking down four three-pointers while shooting 6-6 from the foul line. Tierre Wilson scored 14 points off the bench while Mirenda Swearengin chipped in with 10. Andrea Roberson pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds to lead Fresno State's commanding 39-24 attack on the glass.
The Bulldogs shot 47.8-percent while holding the Spartans to just 32-percent. Fresno State forced 23 turnovers in the win, marking the third time in four games the Bulldogs have forced 20 turnovers from their opponent.
The first half featured five ties and five lead changes, with Fresno State holding its largest lead at 28-19 following a jumper from Wilson at the 6:58 mark. The Spartans managed to hang close, thanks to Lamisha Augustine's 13 first-half points.
The Bulldogs scored the first five points of the second half to go up by double-digits at 35-25. 10 minutes later, Fresno State's lead swelled to 21 points at 51-30 when the Bulldogs embarked on a 16-5 scoring run.
Two free throws from Perera with 3:50 remaining gave Fresno State its largest lead of the night at 62-33.
Fresno State next plays at Nevada on Thursday, Feb. 16. Tip-off time is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard live on 1430 ESPN Radio with Brian Risso describing the action.
