The Fresno State women’s basketball team ended their Cinderella run in the Mountain West Tournament, getting to the semifinals after two close victories.
After beating No. 11 seed San Jose State in Sunday’s first round and upsetting No. 3 seed Colorado State in Monday’s quarterfinal, the Bulldogs looked to continue their run against the No. 2 seed Wyoming Cowgirls.
But a slow start to the second half and a tough shooting night for the team proved too difficult for the Bulldogs to overcome, finishing with a 57-45 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 11.
The ‘Dogs struggled to knock down open shots, the polar opposite of the victory against Colorado State.
“I didn’t think we were able to shoot the three like we had,” said Head Coach Jaime White. “I just wanted to start the game like we started our Colorado State game.”
The team shot just 32% from the field and 29% from beyond the arc.
Difficulty grabbing rebounds also plagued the ‘Dogs who were out-rebounded 42-25. Wyoming center Allyson Fertig finished with 18 rebounds, 10 more than the Bulldogs’ leader.
”I think we ran out of gas a little bit late,” White said.
Due to the previous two games, the Bulldogs’ starters were forced to log a hefty amount of minutes over the three night stretch. Forward Mia Jacobs, the team’s leading scorer, played over 35 minutes in every game.
Jacobs ended as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer on Tuesday night with 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting. She added 8 rebounds and 2 assists in 40 minutes of action.
What happened?
The Bulldogs opened the game in a 2-3 zone on defense. With the ‘Dogs in a zone, the Cowgirls spread the ball around en route to an early 11-2 lead halfway through the first quarter.
The Bulldogs struggled to find a groove offensively with the Cowgirls applying pressure on the defensive end. Fresno State shot just 1-for-5 in the opening five minutes of the game.
“We needed to get that energy defensively instead of trying to force it,” said forward Kylee Fox.
But the ‘Dogs seemed to calm down after junior guard Maria Elohim knocked down a 3-pointer. Fresno State would cut into the Cowgirl’s lead and trail just 15-12 through one quarter.
Wyoming guard, Emily Mellema, knocked down a 3-pointer to start the second quarter. But Mia Jacobs responded with a three of her own.
Both teams continued trading buckets in the second quarter, and neither squad could separate from the other.
The ‘Dogs would head into halftime down 24-23.
Fox was the ‘Dogs leading scorer with 7 points on 3-of-3 shooting. But the Bulldogs shot just 28% from the field.
The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game at 30-29 off of a Jacobs 3-pointer with under six minutes to play in the third quarter.
The lead would last just 17 seconds as the Cowgirls went on a 15-4 run off the heels of Mellema and center Allyson Fertig who combined for 11 points during their run.
A near four-minute scoring drought put the ‘Dogs behind 44-34, heading into the final quarter of the semi-final game.
Wyoming continued to attack Fresno State’s zone defense with passes, followed by screens and rotations to new spots on the court. The Cowgirls’ ball movement helped them balloon their lead to 55-38 with four minutes to go.
In a last-chance effort to complete the comeback, the Bulldogs opted for a full-court press on defense, trying to trap the ball. However, the press didn’t stop the Cowgirls from getting the ball downcourt and draining the clock.
The ‘Dogs ended on a 7-0 run but ultimately lost 57-45, ending their hopes of a championship.
As for Wyoming, they head to the championship game to face off against No. 4 seed San Diego State. The Aztecs upset No. 1 seed UNLV on their own home court in the semifinals on Tuesday. The championship game is set for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 and can viewed on the CBS Sports Network.
