The Bulldogs were held to a season-low 18.8% (3-for-16) from the 3-point range. The Fresno State women’s basketball team (9-6) has yet to get its first conference win, losing 68-59 against the University of Wyoming on Saturday, Jan. 4 at the Save Mart Center.
The Bulldogs were led by junior guard Mariah Elohim who logged in an efficient 18 points on 8-for-12 (66.7%) from the field and a season-high 37 minutes.
With the team shooting a season-low from beyond the arc, the ‘Dogs shifted to shooting in the midrange, which Elohim attributed to the Cowgirls’ off-ball defense.
“[Shooting in the midrange] wasn’t necessarily something that we were trying to do,” Elohim said. “The way that they guarded our off-ball screens allowed us to get a lot of midrange shots.”
Junior forward Mia Jacobs had an off-game, matching her season-low 7 points and six rebounds. She fouled out in the fourth quarter.
After struggling in the previous game against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Elohim said the team has her back and she just has to keep shooting.
“When you’re in a little slump like that, you just keep working, keep going and we have other people that can contribute,” Elohim said. “Continuing to play the way we do, sometimes shots just don’t fall, but shots will fall. She’ll get back in her groove.”
What happened
The first quarter opened with the Cowgirls dominating the paint. They used their size in the backcourt to their advantage, going on a 12-4 run midway through the first quarter.
To combat the points in the paint, the Bulldogs gave the Cowgirls different looks on defense. The ‘Dogs went from a zone defense to fronting players in the post to prevent the ball from getting to the paint. However, it wasn’t enough as the first quarter closed with a 22-13 lead for the Cowgirls.
Elohim started the second quarter with one of her many midrange points of the night, which lit a spark under the Bulldogs as they closed in on the Cowgirls’ lead. After a made free throw from Jacobs to complete an and-one play, the ‘Dogs trailed 37-33 heading into halftime.
At halftime, Elohim led the Bulldogs with 11 points, followed by sophomore forwards Maria Konstantinidou and Kylee Fox, who had six points each. The ‘Dogs scored 16 of their 33 points in the paint, in contrast to the Cowgirls’ 26 of 47 points in the paint. The Cowgirls were also draining their 3-point shots, going 3-for-4 (75%) from beyond the arc in comparison to the Bulldogs’ 2-for-11 (18.2%) total from the 3-point line.
In the third quarter, the Cowgirls stuck to their game plan of scoring in the paint as they went on a 6-2 run to open the quarter. But, the Bulldogs responded with a run to bring the score to 46-41.
The ‘Dogs took advantage of their momentum and started trapping players on defense. As a result, the Bulldogs scored six points off of the Cowgirls’ four turnovers and trimmed the lead to 50-46 by the end of the third quarter.
To close out the game, the ‘Dogs opted for a zone defense, which was no match for the Cowgirls’ ball movement as they were zipping the ball around to shooters, draining three of their nine 3-point attempts— matching their halftime total. The Cowgirls went on to win 68-59.
Despite preparing for it in practice, Elohim thought that the Cowgirls’ size was a key factor in the loss.
“All week we were practicing, just getting ready for their bigger size,” Elohim said. “Ultimately, [their size] was a big reason for the loss. We tried our best, we did our boxing out, we did everything we could in the zone [defense].”
What’s next
The Bulldogs aim to win their first conference game at San Jose State University on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 6 p.m.
In preparation for their next game, Elohim said the team has to improve on taking care of the ball and grabbing rebounds.
“We did start with a few turnovers in the beginning of the game, so we have to limit turnovers, take care of the ball,” Elohim said. “Our rebounding and boxing out is really what we need to work on the most.”