The Fresno State women’s basketball team has done a few firsts this year, and Wednesday night it added another to the inventory.
The ‘Dogs beat the San Diego State Aztecs 57-50 at the Save Mart Center, something they have not done since entering the Mountain West Conference.
And unlike the Nevada match, the ‘Dogs had more of a spread production on the court. Five players scored all 57 points — and each of them crept into the double-digits.
Guard Raven Fox led the pack with 14 points. She was perfect from the field (5-5) and only missed one free-throw attempt.
“We didn’t think the game was going to be super tough,” Fox said. “We just took it one step at a time.”
But Fresno State head coach Jaime White was still hungry.
“I think we can get six [players] in double digits, especially if it is just nine or 10 [points],” she said. “Especially when people run zone against us, I think the ball is distributed a bit more, and we had some late calls.”
The key to the game was transition defense. Being able to get back in form and cause San Diego State to misdirect a few plays helped Fresno State remain consistent. At times, White acknowledged, it can be troublesome.
Tonight, it all clicked.
“I just felt like with their speed and quickness, we can defend anybody’s guards in our league,” White said. “It’s been nice to be able to have that luxury.”
Fresno State center Toni Smith added nine rebounds — six of them offensive — to her 13 points.
“We practice that all the time, blocking and trying to get offensive rebounds,” she said.
Senior forward Alex Sheedy and guards Alex Furr and Shauqunna Collins added 10 points apiece.
Fresno State is now on a 12-game win streak, and still holds first place in the Mountain West at 8-0. The Aztecs are now 3-5 in conference play.
The ‘Dogs will stay at home Saturday and host the Colorado State Rams. Tipoff is scheduled to be at 2 p.m.