FRESNO, Calif.- Five different Bulldog players scored in double-figures to complement an impressive defensive team effort as Fresno State cruised past UNLV 77-57 in the first round of the WNIT on Sunday in front of 2,446 at the Save Mart Center. Chantella Perera and Tierre Wilson each poured in 19 points, Mirenda Swearengin dished out a career-best 11 assists to match 10 points and Fresno State shot 53.3-percent from the field.
Click here to see the complete WNIT bracket.
The Bulldogs, enjoying their best season in school history at 24-7 overall, will now travel to Kansas State (20-10) for a second-round contest on Wednesday, Mar. 22. Tip-off time is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST and the game can be heard live on 1430 ESPN Radio.
Fresno State, which was coming off a 78-59 first-round rout of UC Santa Barbara three days ago, continues to display its dominance at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs are 15-1 at home this season, 32-13 all-time at the facility and 21-1 on their home court under the direction of interim head coach Adrian Wiggins.
UNLV (18-12) trailed only 32-26 at the half until Fresno State outscored the visitors 45-31 over the final 20 minutes. The Lady Rebels were led by Sheena Moore, who managed a team-best 10 points on 2-12 shooting.
Moore's shooting night was representative of UNLV's offensive struggles, as the Lady Rebels were hounded all afternoon by a stingy defense and made just 35.8-percent from the field. UNLV repeatedly failed to get quality looks at the basket, as Fresno State came up with 12 steals while forcing the Lady Rebels into multiple shot-clock violations.
"I feel like we really turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and obviously we shot the ball well throughout the contest," said Wiggins, who has guided the Bulldogs to a 31-11 record since taking over at the helm last February. "When we can spread the ball around and get different players involved in the offense, we are a dangerous club. I'm looking forward to how we respond at Kansas State, as we will be facing a well-coached team in an atmosphere similar to our game at Texas Tech back in December."
Amy Parrish and Faith Probst each chipped in with 12 points for Fresno State, which made 60.7-percent during a key second-half surge. The Bulldogs held a slim 33-31 rebounding edge, totaled 20 assists and forced 22 UNLV miscues.
The Lady Rebels raced out to a 5-1 lead to begin the game but the Bulldogs tied the score at 5-5 by the first media timeout. A lay-up from Perera gave Fresno State its first lead of the game at 7-5 and aside from two ties, the Bulldogs took control for the remainder of the contest.
Fresno State's biggest first-half lead came with 34 seconds remaining following a free throw from Swearengin.
Leading 39-30 with 17:02 on the clock in the second half, the Bulldogs put together a 23-5 scoring run that spanned the next 10 minutes. Andrea Roberson's first career three-pointer served as the exclamation point, giving the `Dogs a 62-37 cushion.
UNLV climbed within 15 points at 65-50 with just over four minutes left, only to see Fresno State empty its bench and secure a 20-point victory.
Fresno State, now 6-8 all-time in the postseason and 6-6 in the WNIT, travels to Manhattan, Kan., to take on the Wildcats. Kansas State defeated Idaho State 88-68 on Friday evening in a first-round matchup.