The Fresno State women’s basketball team retook second place in the Mountain West Conference on Saturday when it won its second meeting of the season over the UNLV Rebels.
With a final score of 70-52, the ‘Dogs won both meetings by double figures.
UNLV led 2-0 for the first 1:25 of the game after a Danielle Miller jumper. From then on the ‘Dogs pounced and the Rebels never led again. Fresno State shot well from the 3-point arc (10 of 26, 38.5 percent).
The Bulldogs’ consistency in that department along with good defense and out-rebounding the Rebels (47-34) enabled Fresno State to jump out to a huge lead. It led by as many as 33 at one point in the second half.
Paving the way for the ‘Dogs was senior guard Bree Farley with a game-high 16 points.
“I’m just proud of how we played because coming off of a pretty bad loss against Nevada we didn’t play our best game and didn’t play the way we were preparing to play,” Farley said. “I think just knowing that if we play together, we can have a really good game and play against the best teams and win.”
Junior Robin Draper, who added 14 points of her own, also played a key role in the win. As a replacement for leading scorer Alex Sheedy, who is out with a leg injury, Draper shot 50 percent from the 3-point line (4 of 8).
“I’ve been working to get more of an open shot instead of a contested one, but the players on our team worked real hard to move the ball around and saw me wide open,” Draper said.
Senior guard Taylor Thompson also contributed with her ninth consecutive game in double figures. She connected on 4 out of 10 field goals for 12 points. She also added four rebounds and a steal.
Fresno State coach Reagan Pebley credits this win to the hard work the Bulldogs put in last week.
“We really believe that our practices leading into games is where we really prepare ourselves and get the confidence in winning,” said Pebley. “And I feel like the two practices we had leading into this were hard, efficient, spirited, confident, and I feel like we got better.”
The Bulldogs are now 12-7 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Their next contest will come on Wednesday as they go on the road to take on the Wyoming Cowgirls.
“We’re just going to be really grateful for this ‘W’ definitely at home and especially before we have to go on the road to play at Wyoming,” Pebley said. “It is really tough to go and get wins in Laramie.”