Women's Basketball falls short of tourney title

Fresno State (2-3) could not overcome a 15-point deficit in the second half and lost 67-60 to host Oklahoma State (4-3) in the championship game of the Cowgirl Classic on Saturday.

The Bulldogs were able to come back and close the gap to 63-60 with 26 second remaining after going on a nine-point run capped by a steal and a lay-up by junior forward Aritta Lane. But Fresno State would not score again, and the Cowgirls iced the game with four more points, including two free throws by Nina Stone.

Lane led Fresno State with 12 points. Lane was the only Bulldog selected to the Cowgirl Classic All-Tournament Team, scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the two-game event.

“ We can take a lot of positives from a game like this,” coach Stacy Johnson-Klein said in a press release. “This is a young team, and to be down by double digits in the second half and then cut it to three late in the game says quite a bit about these girls. I was pleased with our intensity and that we never gave up. We still have some things to work on, but we left everything on the floor tonight.”

Junior Veronica Mack and freshman Brittani Green each scored 10 in the losing effort, and senior Mindy Clark had eight points and seven rebounds.

Fresno State’s next game will be at Long Beach State on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Wrestling takes 15th

at Las Vegas Invitational

In a competition pitting more than 40 schools, two Fresno State wrestlers finished in the top 10 and led the team to 15th place in the 22nd Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Unranked senior Casey Olson went 5-2 in the tournament and finished fifth in the 149-pound division. Junior Clint Walbeck, the No. 17 heavyweight, placed seventh.

Olson beat No. 12 Matt Cox of Cal Poly and No. 17 David Diles of Brown twice in the tournament. Olson’s only losses came to No. 7 Travis Shufelt of Nebraska and No. 3 Ryan Churella of Michigan.

The Bulldogs’ next tournament will be in Reno, Nev. on Dec. 18.

Fresno State opens its home season Jan. 3 against Columbia, UC Davis and No. 14 Northern Iowa.

Berrian named MVP

at football awards banquet

Football coach Pat Hill handed out the 2003 football awards in downtown Fresno on Sunday.

Senior wide reciever Bernard Berrian was announced as the team’s MVP, an award voted on by the players.

Senior safety Dee Meza was named the most inspirational. Sophomores Garrett McIntyre and Adam Jennings were given the coaches’ award.

Kicker Brett Visintainer was the special teams player of the year. Sophomore running back Dwayne Wright and safety James Sanders won most valuable offensive and defensive back respectively.