Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (WNIT First Round)
Women's Basketball Falls To Texas A&M-Corpus Christi In WNIT, 56-53
3/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 18, 2005
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas- Trailing by double-digits in the second half, Fresno State rallied to briefly take the lead but fell short in a 56-53 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the 2005 Sportsview.tv Postseason WNIT.The Bulldogs, who had won seven of 10 overall heading into the postseason, wrap up the 2004-05 season with a 20-11 record while becoming the sixth team in school history to reach the 20-win plateau. Fresno State was playing in the postseason for the second time in three years and fifth time in program history.
After TAMCC's Monica Pena missed two free throws with the Islanders leading 56-53, Tierre Wilson's off-balance three-point attempt from long range came up short and the season-high, raucous crowd of 4,501 fans stormed the court in the first-ever postseason victory for the Islanders (23-6).
Wilson's three-point misfire was one of many for the Bulldogs, who were just 1-13 from beyond the arc. Fresno State shot 36.7-percent overall from the field compared to TAMCC's 40.8-percent clip. In what was an extremely physical contest, TAMCC was 12-20 from the free throw line while Fresno State made just 8-11.
Aritta Lane closed out her Bulldog career, leading the team with 15 points on 7-10 shooting. Amy Parrish shook off a sluggish first half and chipped in with 11 points and seven boards. Veronica Mack and Chantella Perera each added nine points while Jasmine Plummer hauled down eight rebounds.
Mirenda Swearengin was 1-11 from the field but also totaled six rebounds and five assists.
For TAMCC, Terra Andrews recorded her eighth double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Nicole Duncan added 12 and Jackie Ododa scored 11.
Fresno State trailed 28-21 at intermission, which was a season-low first-half point total. The Bulldogs were then down 44-32 with 9:14 remaining in the contest and rallied to take a 51-49 lead with 2:44 on the clock following two free throws from Perera.
The score was tied four times in the first 13 minutes until a jumper from Wilson gave Fresno State a 17-15 lead with 6:34 to play in the first half.
However, TAMCC closed out the first half on a 13-4 scoring run that resulted in a 28-21 halftime edge. Perera led the `Dogs with seven points through the first 20 minutes.
Midway through the second half, the Islanders' lead had reached double-digits at 40-30 and a minute later it was a 44-32 cushion following a jumper from Ododa.
That's when the Bulldogs made their surge, scoring nine straight points to cut the lead to 44-41 after a lay-up from Lane with 7:25 remaining. Ododa responded with a jumper for TAMCC, only to see Fresno State rattle off a 10-3 scoring run that put the Bulldogs in front at 51-49.
The Islanders closed out the victory by scoring five of the game's nine points.
