The Fresno State women’s basketball team was not shooting the ball behind the 3-point arc like its usual self.
Open shots faltered, contested ones, too.
It was an off night offensively for the Bulldogs — one that helped the last-place Wolf Pack grab a 60-54 win Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center and snap a nine-game Mountain West Conference losing streak.
Fresno State (17-8, 9-3 MWC) shot a season-low 28.4 percent from the field and a confounding 4-of- 28 (14.3 percent) from behind the arc to a Nevada team it handily beat the first time around.
“I think taking 28 3s when you’re having a tough time hitting shots is not our style of basketball,” Fresno State coach Raegan Pebley said. “Nevada did a good job forcing us to take those.”
The Bulldogs, faced with a Wolf Pack zone defense that forced them out to the perimeter, had plenty of chances to score. Fresno State outrebounded Nevada 46-34, with 24 of those boards coming off the offensive end.
But the Bulldogs, who shot an excessive number of 3s early on, had nine-second chance points and weren’t able to sustain a scoring run, allowing the lingering Wolf Pack to maintain its lead in key moments in the game.
Nevada (7-17, 2-9 MWC) shot 48 percent from the field and scored 24 of its points off the 17 turnovers it forced Fresno State to commit. Danika Sharp and Chanelle Brennan led the Wolf Pack with 21 and 16 points, respectively.
“We got 24 offensive rebounds, and you should get offensive rebounds against a zone team,” Pebley said.
“But our focus was not really strong tonight. You get 24 offensive rebounds and Nevada outscores us in second-chance points. Again, you’ve got to be physical; you’ve got to go back up.
“We had the ball in the paint and dribbled out many times instead of being aggressive and going right at the rim again.”
Fresno State, cold shooting night aside, almost usurped the Wolf Pack’s late lead.
The Bulldogs, trailing 57-54 with 48 seconds left after Ki-Ki Moore’s 3-point play, had possession of the ball in their half court, but failed to tie the game after a missed 3-pointer by Rosie Moult gave the Wolf Pack the ball back.
Moore led the Bulldogs with 20 points on 6-of-15 field goal shooting. Alex Sheedy added eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
“We’re upset,” said guard Taylor Thompson, who finished the night with eight points and eight rebounds.
“We shouldn’t have lost, but that’s on us. Hopefully we use this someway looking at it as a positive thing and just keep moving forward and just keep working hard for the next game ahead.”