The Fresno State women’s basketball team defeated Nevada 65-56 in comeback fashion during its Pink Out game Sunday afternoon at the Save Mart Center.
The Bulldogs completely took over in the fourth quarter with a flurry of shots and, defensive pressure. Senior Moriah Faulk converted a layup to extend the Bulldogs, lead to 55-47. Sophomore center Bego Faz Davalos scored seven points in the quarter, and her jumper with 1:12 left gave the ‘Dogs a 10-point lead (61-51).
Head coach Jaime White was impressed with the team’s defensive intensity after halftime.
“I thought, defensively, we came out a little more focused,” White said. “We did a good job staying in the press. It was nice to see us step up and defend a little bit better.”
Nevada sophomore guard Halie Bergman made a 3-pointer, which brought the Wolf Pack back within seven, but Toni Smith answered with a 3-point play of her own to extend Fresno State’s lead to 11 and seal the Bulldog victory.
Early in the first quarter, the teams traded baskets, and the game was tied at nine apiece. Then the Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run to close out the quarter at 17-11.
Senior guard Shauqunna Collins started the second quarter with a strong move to the basket, and Smith drained a pair of free throws to push Fresno State’s lead to 21-14 with 9:01 to play in the first half.
The Wolf Pack then went on a 17-0 run, spanning more than eight minutes and pushing Nevada ahead 31-21. The ‘Dogs missed seven field goals in that stretch, while Nevada converted 7-of-12 field goal attempts and knocked down two free throws.
A deep, 3-point shot from the left corner by Faulk ended the Bulldogs’ scoreless drought, and another crafty layup by Collins closed Nevada’s gap to 31-26 at the half.
Alex Furr ignited the third quarter for the Bulldogs with a 3-pointer. The Bulldogs turned up their defensive tempo as they forced costly turnovers for Nevada and capitalized with a 10-0 run of their own to take a 45-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
Furr was pleased with the play and support of her teammates throughout the game, even through a short shooting slump.
“I wasn’t really feeling good at halftime about my shots, and my teammates were like ‘just keep shooting your shots. The next one is going in,’” she said.
Furr scored six straight points in the run, and after the Bulldogs forced a shot-clock violation and with five seconds left in third quarter, Collins nailed a layup at the buzzer.
The Bulldogs shot 44 percent (25-of-57) from the field and knocked down 11-of-15 (.733) from the free-throw line. The ‘Dogs held Nevada to 35 percent (20-of-58) from the field and had a 17-8 advantage in points off turnovers and 17-11 in bench scoring.
Furr led the Bulldogs with 14 points, hitting three 3-pointers and sinking five free throws. Smith finished with 13 points and six rebounds, and Davalos notched her 12th double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go with nine blocks and five assists.
Nyasha Lesure led Nevada with 15 points, and Stephanie Schmid added 10 points.
