March 12, 2011

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - Fresno State freshman Bre Farley banked home a shot from the block with .2 seconds remaining to lift the Bulldogs to a 78-76 win over Louisiana Tech in the championship game of the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.

With the victory, Fresno State (25-7) clinched the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament while LA Tech (24-7) will have to await Monday night's NCAA Selection Show to find out whether the selection committee will reward its body of work during the season.

"All I want to say is how proud I am of my young ladies," said Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. "They fought hard to get back into the game. They did what I asked them to do to perform well. We always talk about the little things, and we did all the little things except for one thing down the stretch and they scored.

"You have to give (Fresno State) credit. Our kids fought hard, and I'm proud of the things we did. We aren't done. We have done a great job all year. This cannot be the end for us after what these kids have done."

Farley's heroics - her only bucket of the game - came after Louisiana Tech mounted a furious rally in the final minute of the game.

With Fresno State leading 76-71 on a pair of Jaleesa Ross free throws with 28 seconds to play, Tech's Kiara Young cut the deficit to three on a putback off of a Whitney Jones miss with 18 seconds remaining in the game. Following a LA Tech timeout, Brietta Thomas tied up Ross on the inbounds play, giving the basketball back to the Lady Techsters on the alternating possession.

Tech inbounded the basketball to Thomas who barely misfired on a three-pointer before Young pulled down the offensive rebound and passed it back out to Whitney Jones who buried the game-tying three-pointer with 6.4 seconds remaining in the game.

"They left me open," Jones said. "I felt comfortable. I looked around to see if I was open, and I just took the shot."

Fresno State then inbounded the basketball and brought it up to halfcourt before calling a timeout with 2.9 seconds. Following the timeout, the Bulldogs Rosie Moult inbounded the basketball to Farley down on the block who spun and hit the shot off the glass with .2 seconds to play sending Fresno State to the win.

The loss spoiled a valiant comeback by the Lady Techsters who watched Fresno State end the first half on a 12-0 run to take a 37-26 lead into the halftime locker room.

However, it didn't take long for LA Tech to fight back in the second as the Lady Techsters hit 9 of their first 11 shots after intermission and used a 21-4 run to take a 47-41 lead with 13:55 to play.

"It was our intensity level," Weatherspoon said. "One thing we spoke about at the half was our intensity level had to change. This is a totally different game - it is do or die in postseason. Most importantly we had to execute offensively.

"We had to get Adrienne Johnson more touches. When she touches the basketball, we are a must better team. She is either going to score or she is going to find her teammates. Everyone had to step up, and everyone stepped up in the second half and that is why we were so successful."

Fresno State answered with a 7-0 run to retake the lead and the two teams went back and forth in a game that saw 10 ties and 14 lead changes. With the game tied at 60-60 with just under eight minutes remaining, Fresno State used a 6-0 run to grab a six-point advantage.

The Bulldogs held onto the lead from that point forward until Jones' three tied the game at 76, setting the stage for Farley's heroics.

Johnson, who made the all-tournament team for the second straight year, led Tech with 22 points, followed by Jones' 18, Young's 14 and Bendolph's 11.

Ross led Fresno State with 23 points while Taja Edwards added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Moult chipped in with 10.