The Fresno State women’s basketball team fell to 10-11 on the season following their 68-55 home loss Saturday afternoon to the Colorado State University Rams.
A 28-point third quarter from the Rams was too much for the Bulldogs to overcome in their 13-point loss.
The Rams came into the Save Mart Center at 16-4 on the season and were ranked third in the Mountain West standings.
Head Coach Ryan McCarthy said the Rams were a team he picked at the top of the Mountain West.
“Our goal is to get to that level and compete for championships,” McCarthy said.
Despite this, the Bulldogs held a three-point lead heading into the halftime break after holding the Rams to just 20 first-half points. However, offensive mistakes, such as traveling violations and illegal screens, cost them the chance to grow that lead.
“Those are just some of the things that we’ve still got to iron out,” McCarthy said following the loss. “Turnovers are hurting us when we’re working so hard to create them and then going down on the other end and giving right back to the other team.”
Fouls were another burden on the side of the Bulldogs. McCarthy was critical of how many times his team sent the Rams to the free-throw line.
“We’re just not going to win games like that,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said he believes this game is just one part of the process to build Fresno State women’s basketball to a higher level. While the Bulldogs have proven they can hang with some of the better teams in the Mountain West, they are still looking for that win that McCarthy describes as “climbing that hump.”
“Losing sucks,” McCarthy said. “I think for us, we just have to continue to make less losing plays. I think tonight that got exposed a little bit in the second half on some missed assignments on our end.”
It was their defense in the first half that held the Rams in check. Shortly before halftime, the Rams were shooting just 28% from the floor and held them to just eight points in the second quarter.
McCarthy said that for his team to take down a team of Colorado State’s caliber, it would need a defensive effort similar to the one in the first half. “I’d want to be scoring in the 80s, but for us to be competitive with some of these teams ranked inside the top 80, we gotta kind of muck this up and make it ugly,” McCarthy said.
Rams’ forward Madelyn Bragg had a game-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Emilia Long led the Bulldogs in scoring with 17 points, with Danae Powell following up with 16.
The Bulldogs drop to 10-11 on the season and 4-6 in Mountain West Conference play with the loss. They will next play on Jan. 28 at Wyoming University against the Cowgirls. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
