The Fresno State women’s basketball team had a quick turnaround after its 73-61 win over UC Riverside on Thursday night, dropping its match against the George Washington Colonials 73-64.
However, the ‘Dogs did not begin the game sluggishly. With 13:49 remaining in the first half, senior forward Alex Sheedy made a pair of free throws to take a 12-11 lead.
George Washington then scored eight straight points to take a three-possession lead, forcing the Bulldogs to play from behind. Fresno State cut the deficit to one with six quick points, but the the Colonials answered with another 8-0 run. Fresno State had trouble with ball security, turning it over 18 times in the first half alone. But the Bulldogs went into halftime trailing 30-26 after Alex Furr’s layup.
The Colonials used their size and play in the post to push their 4-point lead to 11 in the second half. Six-foot-2-inch forward Caira Washington and 6-foot-4 Jonquel Jones helped George Washington dominate in the paint, both in points and rebounds.
George Washington finished with a 47-32 advantage in rebounding and 24-8 in offensive rebounds and converted those 24 boards into 13 second chance points. The strong Colonial frontcourt also posted a 34-22 advantage in points in the paint.
All that paired with the Colonials’ 22 points of off Fresno State’s 24 turnovers would be too much for most teams to overcome, but the Bulldogs almost did. A 16-4 run erased the 11-point deficit and gave Fresno State their first lead in about 27 minutes.
George Washington got back to what it did best in the final stretch. The Colonials outscored the Bulldogs 19-9 to finish the game, defeating Fresno State 73-64. All 19 points scored in crunch time for George Washington came either in the paint or at the free throw line.
Fresno State was the more efficient shooting team on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs made 43 percent of their shots from the field compared with 37 percent for the Colonials. The combination of offensive rebounding and turnovers game George Washington 73 field goal attempts to the Bulldogs’ 53.
Jones finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Washington finished with 9 points and 14 rebounds. The Colonials’ leading scorer was a guard, however. Lauren Chase had a game-high 22 points.
Sheedy led the Bulldogs with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Furr also had 10 points and junior guard Shauqunna Collins had a team-high 14 points off the bench.
Fresno State falls to 4-3 on the season. The Bulldogs are off until Friday, when they return to the Save Mart Center for a matchup versus St. Mary’s. It will be the first of three home games for the Bulldogs before heading to Oregon to take on the Ducks to close out the non-conference schedule.