Wiggins guides 'Dogs to record mark
Twenty-two wins equals Fresno State record put up by '86-'87 squad
By Chhun Sun
The Collegian
Maybe it was the festivities that come with senior day. Maybe it was facing the one team other than Louisiana Tech to have defeated Fresno State in Western Athletic Conference action. Maybe it was the thought of making school history.
Whatever it was, interim coach Adrian Wiggins noticed it early in Saturday’s season finale against Nevada at the Save Mart Center.
His Bulldogs came out sluggish, missing easy shots, making bad passes, mishandling the ball and committing turnovers. While the Wolfpack was in striking distance, leading by four at one point and then down 32-29 at the end of the first half.
Was this going to be like the game at Nevada on Feb. 16 when the Wolfpack pulled out a 68-67 upset victory?
Nope.
That all changed with 11:43 left, when the Bulldogs started an unstoppable 15-0 run, holding the Wolfpack scoreless for about six minutes to go ahead 63-42 en route to a convincing 73-48 blowout victory.
“I’m glad we overcame those feelings,” Wiggins said. “It’s a great feeling to reconcile the loss that left a bad taste in our mouths.”
That was enough for the Bulldogs to get win No. 22 of the season in front of 3,315 to tie the mark set by the 1986-87 women’s basketball team coached under Bob Spencer.
“Everything,” Wiggins simply said when asked what 22 wins means.
Now the Bulldogs (22-6 overall, 14-2 WAC) go into this week’s WAC Tournament in Reno as the No. 2 seed. And based on Saturday’s performance against Nevada (12-16, 8-8), the Bulldogs have a shot at winning the tourney as much as the top-seeded Louisiana Tech do.
Amy Parrish led the team in scoring and rebounds with 19 and 10, while Tierre Wilson and Chantella Perera finished with 14 and 16 points, respectively. And Mirenda Swearengin finished with a solid all-around game, with eight points, five assists, three rebounds and five steals.
“I think we played completely different when we played them there, not to knock them. They played very well,” Parrish said. “But tonight, we came to play. We played how we should have played and that’s how it should have been since the very first day.”
And one play in particular got the crowd standing on its feet. In an inbound play, Perera lobbed a pass from behind the backboard to a soaring Wilson, who caught the ball behind her body with one hand and threw it off the glass for a bucket.
It put the score up 63-42.
“Wasn’t she awesome?” Perera said with a laugh. “I just kinda threw it up there. She’s very athletic. You know that’s going to be an ESPN highlight.”
But the Bulldogs did more than just score. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Wolfpack 48-32, forced 32 turnovers and had 16 steals.
On the other side, the Wolfpack’s Cherlanda Franklin and Brandi Fitzgerald had 13 and 12 points, respectively. And Nevada hit five 3-pointers compared the Bulldog’s two.
That wasn’t enough, though.
In honor of senior day, Wiggins started the five seniors: forwards Parrish and Faith Probst and guards Swearengin, Angelica Lopez and Toni Atherley.
It was the first career start for Lopez, who registered one assist and one rebound in four minutes.
Toward the end of the game, Wiggins started hearing chants of “We want Wiggins,” while some fans held up signs reading “Hire Wiggins.”
Wiggins said he’s flattered by the reception, but he’s looking at the current situation.
“Taking this team to the NCAA tournament, to have that chance, is bigger than any contract,” he said.
Comment on this story in the Sports forum >>
|
