After starting the season 3-0, the Fresno State women’s basketball team lost four out of its past seven games.
Poor defense and an off-night on shooting played a critical part in the ‘Dogs 77-68 loss to Cal State Fullerton.
Even though it was a nine point game, Fullerton led the way for 36 out of 40 minutes.
“I was disappointed in our defense,” said Head Coach Jaime White. “Our getting out to shooters was slow, and we just had some mental lapses.”
The Titans had an excellent shooting night as they shot 54% from the field, 58.3% from three and 94.1% from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the ‘Dogs shot just 42.4% from the field, 30.8% from three and 66.7% from the line.
Reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week, Bulldog’ Kylee Fox shot 3-for-4 from three while the rest of the team shot 1-for-9.
“Her 3-point shooting has really helped us,” White said on Fox’s 3-point shooting this season. “It’s been really valuable.”
Taija Santa Maria led the ‘Dogs with 18 points, 12 of which came in the second half.
The ‘Dogs got the game started with a 10-6 lead with five straight points from Keely Brown.
Fullerton then went on a 15-6 run to take a 21-16 lead, ending the first quarter.
The Titans extended their lead to 33-26 thanks to five made free throws early on in the second quarter.
Fresno State managed to cut Fullerton’s lead 35-34 with an 8-2 run with 1:47 left in the first half. Fullerton tacked on four more points to end the half with a 39-34 lead.
The ‘Dogs struggled from the free throw line in the first half as they shot just 3-for-7 while the Titans shot a perfect 5-of-5.
After Bulldog Santa Maria scored the first points of the second half, the Titans scored nine of the following 11 points, taking their largest lead thus far at 48-38 midway through the third quarter.
The rest of the quarter went back and forth with Fresno State outscoring Fullerton 11-9.
In the fourth quarter, the first field goal came in with 6:05 left on the clock. In the first four minutes, Fresno State made five free throws, and Fullerton made three.
After the free throw frenzy, the teams alternated baskets as the Titans were still up 66-58. The ‘Dogs trimmed the lead to four points after a Fox 3-pointer and a Mia Jacobs free throw.
In total, Fresno State got to the line 10 times during the fourth quarter and made eight of them. However, the problem was making field goals, making only 5-of-18 in the final frame.
With one minute left and trailing by four, Fullerton’s Allysan Tse hit a dagger 3-pointer, sealing the victory for Fullerton.
With the loss, Fresno State falls to 6-4 overall. It will head to San Luis Obispo to take on 2-5 Cal Poly on Dec. 9. Despite the poor record, Cal Poly has faced three ranked teams. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
