With a final score of 72-46, the Fresno State women’s basketball team opened its season with a win on Monday night against cross-town rivals Fresno Pacific at the Save Mart Center.

Junior forward Mia Jacobs, who finished the game with an 18 point and 10 rebound double-double, said that after a slow first half head coach Jaime White said to keep a level head and stick to the fundamentals.

“Limit turnovers and kind of just settle in,” Jacobs said. “Try and keep the pace, but focus on what we’re trying to run, and get it to the right people and just be confident in our shot.”

What happened?

Right out the gate, the Bulldogs came out in a full court press on defense, setting an aggressive tone early. The Bulldogs also kept the pressure on offense as Jacobs scored the team’s first 4 points. However, the Sunbirds did not let up as they employed strong defense of their own and battled back to make the first quarter competitive.

As a result, the quarter trudged along as both teams struggled to score, and the Sunbirds closed out the low scoring quarter with a three pointer to give them the 13-10 lead.

To open the second quarter, sophomore guard Taija Sta. Maria aggressively drove to the basket to force a shooting foul. Sta. Maria would go on to make both free throws as she brought the deficit to 13-12.

Immediately after the free throws, the Bulldogs opened the next possession with a zone defense as they trapped a Sunbirds player in the corner and forced a travel to give them the ball back. The defense paid off as senior guard Saga Ukkonen knocked down a three to give the ‘Dogs a 15-13 lead.

But much like the first quarter, both teams played strong defense, with both teams going on a three and a half minute scoring drought. It would be broken by a Sunbirds player as both teams would exchange the lead from then on, closing out the first half with a 28-26 lead for the Bulldogs.

Entering halftime, the Bulldogs had 12 turnovers, with six being travels, due to the Sunbirds defense. The Bulldogs were aggressive getting to the basket though as they attempted 14 free throws compared to the Sunbirds’ two.

It was a different story in the third quarter as the Bulldogs were firing on all cylinders on both offense and defense, with eight different Fresno State players contributing in the scoring column. The Bulldogs would close out the quarter on a 16-7 scoring run, blooming their lead to 47-33.

Similar to the third quarter, the Bulldogs were suffocating on defense and shot the lights out on offense in the fourth quarter. Starting with the defense, the Bulldogs forced five turnovers and converted eight points off those turnovers. On offense, both Jacobs and junior guard Maria Elohim led the way with 8 and 7 points respectively and the Bulldogs closed out the quarter on a 25-11 run, with a final score of 72-46.

Sta. Maria credited the team’s performance on defense in the second half, which opened up a bundle of opportunities on offense.

“I think we got good shots, and we just knocked them down in the second half,” Sta. Maria said. “It really just starts on defense; we got a couple steals that led to layups which got us the win.”

What’s next?

The Bulldogs are back at home on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. as they host Santa Clara University at the Save Mart Center.