PCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament : Titans Fall Just Short of UNLV, 61-55 : Anae’s 17 Not Enough; Fullerton Now Hoping for a Berth in the NIT

Cal State Fullerton’s women’s basketball team has to be one of the more deceptive teams around, more or less sneaking up and surprising unwary opponents. The Titans have done it all year--taking third place in the conference--and they nearly did it again in the semifinals of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. women’s basketball tournament Friday.

This time, however, No. 2-seeded Nevada Las Vegas woke up just in time, defeating the third-seeded Titans, 61-55, Friday afternoon at the Forum.

The Titans, who fell behind by 17 points with 14:35 remaining, all but lulled the Rebels into complacency. Then Fullerton decided to sneak back into the game.

“We just had a total defensive breakdown,” UNLV Coach Jim Bolla said. “We built a lead, and I guess some of us decided it was over. It’s never over when you play Fullerton.”

Fullerton Coach Maryalyce Jeremiah disagreed with part of Bolla’s comment, though.

“I don’t think it was as much their breakdown as it was our pressure,” she said.

The Titans (18-11) pulled within one with 4:50 remaining as Gena Miller completed a three-point play. Again, UNLV held on and pulled away, taking a four-point lead with 34 seconds left. But Fullerton squandered a chance to cut the lead when Stacy Hunt threw away a pass, which UNLV’s Pauline Jordan picked up. And that was Fullerton’s season, barring a possible National Invitation Tournament appearance.

Senior forward Wendy Anae led the Titans with 17 points, Amy Torczon had 10 and Miller added 7. For UNLV, Jordan had a game-high 19 points and 7 rebounds; Vicki Lander added 11 points.

“I think that we have proven that we are the legitimate third-place team,” said Jeremiah, who also feels her squad deserves an NIT bid. “I’m very proud of the way that our kids played today and throughout the season.”

As for UNLV, the Rebels will meet top-seeded Cal State Long Beach in today’s championship game at 11 a.m. Long Beach, which is 24-5 and has won 16 straight, trailed briefly in the first half against San Diego State before taking an eight-point halftime lead. The 49ers defeated SDSU, 94-78.

Long Beach had five players in double figures as Penny Toler, PCAA co-player of the year, led with 19. Traci Waites scored 18, Angie Lee 16, Shameil Coleman 13 and Cheryl Dowell 11. For San Diego State, which finished 21-10, PCAA co-player of the year Chana Perry had a game-high 27 points.