The Fresno State Women’s basketball team (6-3) finished the American Savings Bank Rainbow Wahine Showdown with an overtime win against the University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin) on Dec. 1, bouncing back from two earlier losses during the weekend.
On Friday, Nov. 29, the Bulldogs lost 50-47 to the University of Hawaii after blowing a 13-point lead in the third quarter. The next day, they lost 97-41 to No. 1 University of California, Los Angeles.
In the game against UT Martin, the Bulldogs were led by junior forward Mia Jacobs as she recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 31 points and 14 rebounds along with a season-high five steals.
Freshman guard Danae Powell was also crucial to the win as she drained two clutch free throws to bring the game to overtime.
What happened
The Bulldogs were first on the scoreboard with a three from junior guard Mariah Elohim after a pass from senior guard Saga Ukkonen. However, after going 1-of-2 from the free throw line, the Skyhawks answered with a three of their own to contribute to the scoreboard.
The rest of the quarter went back-and-forth with the Skyhawks gaining a small 18-14 lead to close the quarter as they scored an efficient 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the field and 2-of-2 from the 3-point line.
The Skyhawks built on their first quarter momentum in the second quarter as they clicked on offense, their largest lead being eight. The Bulldogs struggled to put the ball in the basket as they went 5-of-15 (33.3%) from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc. The Skyhawks closed the quarter on a 8-0 run to bring the score to 32-24 heading into halftime.
In the first half, the ‘Dogs scored 13 of their 24 points off of the Skyhawks’ 12 turnovers. The Bulldogs did a good job taking care of the ball as they only turned the ball over twice, which the Skyhawks did not capitalize on. Jacobs led the Bulldogs in scoring with eight points, followed by Powell with four. Jacobs also had three steals which was more than her season average of 2.4.
Early in the third quarter, after being down 10, the Bulldogs went on a 24-8 run to end the quarter which was sparked by the hot three-point shooting from Elohim and Jacobs as both players made four of the teams six 3-pointers in the quarter. The ‘Dogs entered the fourth quarter up 51-45.
In the fourth quarter, the Skyhawks slowly chipped away at the Bulldogs’ lead and within the final minute, the Skyhawks were up two. After Powell drew a foul, she was put onto the free throw line where she drained both free throws to tie the game. On the next possession, the Bulldogs came away with a stop on defense to force overtime.
In overtime, the Bulldogs took control as they held the Skyhawks to four points while scoring 13 of their own. Jacobs led the charge, contributing nine points in overtime to secure the 75-66 win.
Jacobs’ performance over the weekend earned her a spot on the Rainbow Wahine Showdown All-Tournament team as she finished the weekend with two double-doubles, a career-high 18 rebounds against Hawaii and she matched her career-high 31 points.
What’s next
The Bulldogs are back at the Save Mart Center as they take on University of California, Merced on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.