Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
11-8, 4-2
Nevada
12-8, 6-1
Hard Luck Dogs Fall Against Nevada
1/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2007
Fresno, Calif. - Down two starters nearly from the opening tip, Fresno State stayed close but ultimately lost to Nevada Thursday night 68-61. Senior guard Chantella Perera had a career night, playing all but the last 14 seconds and scoring 33 points to keep the Bulldogs in the game, but Fresno State was turned back in the end. Guard Traci Graham had 18 points for the Wolf Pack.
Senior center Jenny Thigpin missed the game due to a rules violation regarding an enrollment issue, which came with a one-game penalty sanctioned by the NCAA. That was known entering the game, but three minutes in the unknown hit, as Tierre Wilson went down with an ankle injury, and would not return in the contest.
"I felt that we did what we could offensively with the hand we'd been dealt," said head coach Adrian Wiggins. "We also played well defensively overall. I could not fault how hard we played tonight. It was a difficult situation, but we had trouble with fatigue, and did not make the little things happen that are necessary to win."
Tied at six when Wilson exited, the Bulldogs moved out to a three-point lead as Chantella Perera hit a three with 15:58 remaining. From that point, Perera did most of the ball-handling, occasionally being spelled by Brittny Jones, as well as taking charge of most of the offense, shooting 25 shots on the night, 15 more than Paige Diggs who also scored in double-figures with 10 points.
Traci Graham had a hot first half for Nevada, shooting 6-8 from the field and hitting 3-4 from beyond the arc, as the Wolf Pack stayed even with hot shooting from Perera. The teams remained tied until the 7:00 minute mark at 22, but Nevada put together a 7-0 run at that point and held on until the half, going in with a 6 point lead, helped by 15 points from Graham in the first half.
Forced into using six players for most of the game, the Bulldogs began to show signs of fatigue in the second half, as Nevada doubled their lead to 12-points in the first five minutes of the second half, despite a solid defensive effort from the Bulldogs, who held the Wolf Pack to 37.7 percent shooting and saw a career night from Erica Henry in the defensive paint, turning back six shots on the evening.
Using some momentum from made shots by Andrea Roberson and Chantella Perera, the Bulldogs chipped into the lead, cutting the Nevada advantage back to 5 on two occasions, including one at 56-51 with 5:54 remaining. However, the Bulldogs had trouble limiting the Wolf Pack on the offensive glass, and saw the lead increase back to double digits near the end of the game.
Perera finished her night with a made three pointer in the closing seconds, but fouled out pursuing a steal following the make. Given a deserved standing ovation by the crowd, Perera finished the night with 33 points on 12-25 shooting, including 4-6 from three along with three rebounds and three assists, playing the entire game except for the final 14 seconds.
Starter Brittani Green played 37 minutes, and four other players neared 30 minutes, including Jones and Roberson who set career highs with 30 and 29 minutes respectively.
WAC play continues for Fresno State on Saturday, as the Bulldogs travel to Ruston, La. to play Louisiana Tech. Tipoff for that game is at 7 p.m. local time. Both Thigpin and Wilson are expected to return for that game.
