Nevada women move on in tourney

RENO " Dellena Criner was getting pushed, banged and held throughout the game. You could see the frustration on the face of Nevada's senior guard.

In the end, Criner had the last laugh.

Criner knocked down two crucial free throws and forced a critical turnover to help Nevada to a 73-65 win over Boise State in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday night at Lawlor Events Center.

The win moved Nevada into Friday's semifinals at 2:30 p.m. against the New Mexico State-Louisiana Tech winner.

"Dellena was amazing," Nevada coach Jane Albright said. "The fourth foul was a charge and it was probably a good call. She went down and got a steal.

"They go after her to get to us. We had help in scoring tonight. Her composure is always there. It was another day at the office for her."

Almost. You could see Criner's face and her frustration showed several points during the game.

"It's March Madness," Criner said. "You've just got to keep going to the next play. This is a tight game and usually all the games in the tournament are pretty tight for the most part. I try to do my best and go for the next play. You can't dwell. As long as my teammates and coaches are telling me it's OK..."

The scoring help Albright alluded to came from Johnna Ward (21 points) and Brandi Jones (15 points). Shavon Moore contributed a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Cherlanda Franklin added seven points, nine rebounds and three steals.

"Obviously Johnna was unbelievable," Albright said. "Brandi in the second half was a dominant guard. She rebounded and scored like a senior would do.

"The second half we were very exceptional, obviously, scoring 43 points." Criner scored 14 of her 17 in the second half, and Jones scored 14 of her 15 in the final 20 minutes.

Criner's 3-pointer gave Nevada a 62-61 lead with 4 minutes, 51 seconds remaining. Janie Bos dropped in a short jump shot to give the Broncos a 63-62 lead with 2:48 left.

A basket by Franklin, a steal by Franklin on the ensuing possession and a bucket by Jones made it 66-63. Heather Pilcher's layup cut the lead to 66-65 with 1:35 left, but that would be Boise's final points of the night.

Nevada went 6-for-7 at the foul line in the final 1:11 to put the game away for good.

Ward, who scored 13 first-half points to keep Nevada within four at the half (34-30), has played well against Boise this season. She scored 14 and 19, respectively, in the two previous games for Nevada, which improved to 17-13 overall.

"I don't have an answer (for that)," Ward said. "It was just a lucky night. I didn't want it to end tonight.

"I didn't want to lose for our seniors. They try so hard and give their hearts. It was the only thing I could think of."