March 8, 2006
Box Score
RENO, Nev. - Nevada continued its mid and late-season surge, winning its 10th game in the last 14 outings, to advance to Friday's semi-finals of the WAC Tournament here at Lawlor Events Center with a solid 76-61 victory over fifth-seeded San Jose State here Thursday night.
"I am really proud of our team's defensive effort tonight. We made it hard for them to earn points. It was a good team effort," Nevada Head Coach Kim Gervasoni said. "We were 0-6 going into the game tonight (vs. San Jose State), but we didn't focus on that. We focused on what we needed to do to win the game. They manhandled us last week and we were prepared for that this game. We played well on both sides of the ball."
The fourth-seed Wolf Pack built a 35-27 advantage at halftime. They were especially good at the free throw line, hitting 10 of 11. San Jose State made a run and tied it at 59 with 5:33 remaining, but Nevada went on a 17-2 run to end the game.
San Jose State held a one-rebound advantage, 32-31, but Nevada went to the free throw line 33 times and hit 30 of them while San Jose State hit just 13 of 22 charity tosses. The Pack had 10 steals to just four for the Spartans and the Pack also shot .500 from the field, hitting 21 of 42 shots, to just .404 for San Jose State (23-57).
"It feels good to beat San Jose State. It was good to do it for coach. It feels good to get to the semi's. I'm excited. I can't wait for Friday," Nevada forward Jessica Preslar said.
The Pack (13-16) were led by Dellena Criner and Jessica Preslar, who each had 18 points, and Cherlanda Franklin who missed a double-double by one rebound with 10 points and nine boards.
San Jose State (13-15) was again led by Amber Jackson with 23 points and 13 rebounds and Lamisha Augustine with 17 points while Alisha Hicks added 10 markers.
Nevada will play Louisiana Tech, who beat Idaho late Wednesday night, Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the second semi-final game of the WAC Tournament.
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