Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
18-6, 10-2WAC
<li> Nevada </li>
10-14, 6-6WAC
Fresno State Upset In Final Seconds At Nevada, 68-67
2/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2006
RENO- Dellena Criner's lay-up with two seconds remaining lifted Nevada to a 68-67 upset of Fresno State on Thursday night at the Lawlor Events Center.
Prior to Criner's length-of-the-floor lay-up, Fresno State had pulled ahead 67-66 following a jumper from Mirenda Swearengin with 8.8 seconds remaining. Swearengin's basket came on the heels of a jumper from Criner that put Nevada briefly in front 66-65.
Fresno State (18-6, 10-2), which entered the contest with four straight wins and 11 of 12 overall, suffered its first loss since Jan. 28. The Bulldogs fall to second place in the WAC, one game behind Louisiana Tech, which defeated San Jose State on Thursday.
The Bulldogs received a career-high performance from Tierre Wilson, who poured in 20 points off the bench. Mirenda Swearengin added 11 points while Erica Henry tallied 10 points and five rebounds. Fresno State was without the services of Amy Parrish for the final seven minutes of the game, as she fouled out after scoring nine points on 4-5 shooting.
Nevada (10-14, 6-6 WAC) was led by Meghan McGuire's game-high 25 points, as the Wolf Pack shot a blistering 54-percent overall compared to the Bulldog's 47.1-percent clip.
Shooting aside, Fresno State held a 33-29 rebounding edge, made eight more trips to the foul line with an 18-28 mark and forced 21 Nevada turnovers. The Bulldogs even led 31-29 at halftime, representing the first time this year Fresno State has lost a game when leading at the half (17-1).
The first-half was tightly-contested with seven ties through the first 13 minutes. Knotted at 17-17, Nevada embarked on a 12-5 scoring run to take its largest first-half lead at 29-22 with 3:28 remaining.
However, the Bulldogs scored nine unanswered points and a three-pointer from Wilson gave Fresno State a 31-29 edge at intermission.
The Wolf Pack opened the second half on an 18-6 scoring burst, building their largest lead of the game at 47-37 with 12:54 on the clock.
A put-back from Henry at the 8:56 mark brought Fresno State within 52-49, only to see Nevada counter with an 11-2 scoring run and take a 60-51 lead with just over four minutes to play.
But the Bulldogs rallied again, tying the game at 63-63 following two free throws from Perera.
Criner, who finished 3-3 from the field for eight points, scored two of her baskets in the final 22 seconds to ice the game for Nevada.
Fresno State returns to the Save Mart Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22 to host San Jose State . Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
