FRESNO, Calif.- Tierre Wilson and Mirenda Swearengin scored in double-figures while spearheading a stingy Bulldog defense during Fresno State's 78-59 rout of UC Santa Barbara in the preliminary round of the Postseason WNIT on Thursday at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State improves to 23-7 overall, establishing a program record for most wins in a season. The Bulldogs, who improve to 14-1 at home this year, advance to host UNLV (18-11, 9-7 Mountain West) in the first round on Sunday, Mar. 19, at 2 p.m.
Wilson fell one point short of matching her career-high, scoring a game-best 19 points on 8-13 shooting. Swearengin chipped in with 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals. Fresno State shot 41.8-percent overall from the field, recorded 22 assists and led 41-24 at halftime.
Perhaps more importantly, the Bulldog's opportunistic defense scored 34 points off 27 Gaucho turnovers. Fresno State racked up 16 steals and held convincing advantages in the paint (50-28) and on the fast break (28-4).
"I was pleased with our energy tonight and thought we bounced back very well after last week," said head coach Adrian Wiggins, who upped his record to 30-11 with 24 of those wins coming by double-digit margins. "UC Santa Barbara is a well-coached team. I just felt like our ball pressure gave them a lot of trouble. With tonight's win, this team took another step in the right direction and the program record means a lot to everyone."
UC Santa Barbara (16-14) was led by Whitney Warren's 12 points to go along with eight rebounds. No other Gaucho player reached double-figures. Fresno State held a slim rebounding edge at 44-43 and limited UC Santa Barbara to just 39-percent shooting.
The Gauchos scored the game's first five points and held their largest lead of the game at 9-4 with 16:48 remaining. But the Bulldogs tied the game at 9-9 on their next two possessions and closed out the half on a 17-4 scoring run that resulted in a 41-24 lead at intermission.
A lay-up from Amy Parrish one minute into the second half pushed Fresno State's lead over the 20-point mark for the first time at 45-24. From that point on, the Bulldogs led by at least 20 points until a lay-up from Whitney Warren with 11 seconds left in the game resulted in the game's final score of 78-59.
Wilson gave Fresno State its largest lead of the contest at 68-41 with 8:21 left to play.
Tickets for Sunday's game against UNLV are available through the Save Mart Center Box Office and the Bulldog Ticket Office. Tickets can also be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 485-TIXS.