Bulldogs show they can score
'Dogs were no generous host as they beat Melbourne Roos 91-59 in second exhibition
Joseph Vasquez / The Collegian
Chantella Perera drives by Melbourne Roos’ Heather Oliver. An Australia native, Perera saw some familiar faces in Tuesday’s exhibition game. Perera had 15 points, four assists and five steals. |
By Maggie Thach
The Collegian
It felt a little more like home for junior Chantella Perera and senior Faith Probst. The two players shared the court with some familiar faces, playing their last exhibiton game against Melbourne Roos.
Perera and Probst, both from Australia, showed their peers from back home what they have learned since coming to the States. Perera scored 15 points along with four assists and five steals and Probst came off the bench to finish with 11 points and six rebounds to help the Bulldogs come away with a 91-59 victory.
Melbourne Roos had a significant size difference and the team looked as if they would give the Bulldogs more competition than their first exhibition opponent Fresno Pacific.
Trailing the Bulldogs by as many as 17 points, Melbourne Roos used that advantage to keep the game close, cutting the lead to eight before the half.
But Fresno State scored a basket seconds before the first half horn and took a double-digit lead into halftime.
That was enough to build momentum for a smothering second half. Three straight steals by the Bulldogs, two by Perera, in the first minute of the second set the tone for the rest of the game.
The Bulldogs’ lead hovered around 10 for the first five minutes but Fresno State went on a 23-5 run for a total of 53 second-half points to end the game. The offensive onslaught can be attributed to the 15 second half steals.
“We started off flat but picking up the tempo was the difference between the first and the second half,” head coach Adrian Wiggins said. “Our passion is to play fast. We did better the faster we made the game.”
The Bulldogs improved on every aspect since their first exhibition game against Fresno Pacific. The team was 17 of 22 from the free throw line, had 23 assists and 47 total rebounds, 28 of them being off the offensive glass.
“I think we [Perera and Paige Diggs] know we have to play 40 minutes,” said Jasmine Plummer, who had eight points and seven steals. “I think the last two years, we’ve just learned how to be mature.”
That maturity is coming in handy, especially with senior leader Amy Parrish out of the line up. Wiggins said Parrish would be back for the first game of the year.
Even without Parrish, the team knows it is capable of scoring but they will be looking to improve defensively before heading down south to face the UC Irvine Anteaters on Friday.
“We want to play a full 40 minutes,” Diggs said. “We know what our weapons are and we are not quite there.”
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