Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Cal Poly
`Dogs Top Cal Poly in Season Opener, 67-56
11/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2014
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State women's basketball head coach Jaime White opened up her Bulldog career with a 67-56 win this afternoon over Cal Poly at the Save Mart Center.
The `Dogs were paced by senior forward Alex Sheedy's seventh career double-double as the senior had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The native of Moe, Australia, also added a career-best five assists. Senior guard Alex Furr also had 12 points for the game as she went 3-of-4 from 3 in the first half.
The Bulldogs started quick with an 8-0 run from a balanced attacked with four players contributing, while the defense held the Mustangs to an 0-for-10 start. After Cal Poly's Lisa Marie Sanchez cut the deficit to five at 14-9 with 8:38 on the clock, Fresno State responded with a 9-4 run, which included Furr's second 3-pointer of the half that gave the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead of the game.
A 3-pointer from Cal Poly senior Ariana Elegado with 4:43 on the clock made it a three-point game, the closest since early in the half, but back-to-back triples from Furr and junior guard Brittany Aikens helped build the lead back up.
Late in the first half, junior guard Shauqunna Collins began to spark the team with her energy off of the bench as the Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run to close the half with JUCO transfer on the court. Fresno State took a 38-28 lead into the break due in part to shooting 50 percent (15-of-30) from the field and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from the beyond the arc, while holding the Mustangs to a mere 29.7 percent (11-37) from the field.
After an early bucket from Cal Poly to start the second half, the Bulldogs forced three-straight missed shots from the Mustangs and a turnover as they turned the misses into run outs and four consecutive layups. Just over three minutes into the second half, Fresno State's lead had ballooned to 16 at 46-30.
Holding a 53-42 advantage with just under 15 minutes remaining, the `Dogs began to struggle to find their shot, unable to score for nearly six minutes. During that time, the Mustangs were able to bring their deficit down to six at 53-47, but four blocks, three from redshirt freshman center Bego Faz Davalos, within a four-minute span limited the damage.
Late in the half, Fresno State on again began to find the bottom of the net, starting with four-straight free throws to build the lead back up to nine before senior guard Robin Draper put the game out of reach with an open 3-pointer from the top of the key. That was followed up by a layup from Furr to make it a 14-point lead at 64-50 with two minutes to play.
The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the field, while clamping down on the Mustang offense, allowing them to only hit 29.2 percent (21-of-72). Ten of 11 players who saw the court for the `Dogs recorded at least two points in the contest, while three were in double figures.
Along with posting 15 assists and recording 11 steals as a team, Fresno State also blocked nine shots, more than the squad had in a single-game during the 2013-14 season. Faz Davalos recorded five of those as she also added seven points and six rebounds in her first game as a Bulldog.
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