Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
8-3
University of Oregon
6-4
`Dogs Ground Ducks in Eugene, 68-59
12/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
EUGENE, Ore. - After a fast-paced opening 20 minutes that saw Fresno State score its most points in a first half this season, the Bulldogs had to grind through the second half to defeat Oregon, 68-59, Sunday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena.
Senior guard Alex Furr, who scored 11 points on the day, opened the game with a 3-pointer, and followed that up with a layup. Senior forward Alex Sheedy, who matched her career high from Friday night with another 25 points, got going four minutes into the half, hitting a pair of 3's within a minute.
Junior forward Moriah Faulk pushed the Bulldogs lead to six with a triple from left side to make it 23-17 with 10 minutes to go which forced Oregon to call a timeout.
As Fresno State continued to push the pace in the first half, running after every rebound and turnover, the tempo began to turn into points. Leading by four with just over five remaining, senior guard Stephanie Rovetti weaved into the paint and hit a layup with the shot clock expiring. Junior guard Shauqunna Collins stole the ensuing inbound pass and found an open Robin Draper on the left wing for a 3-pointer that forced Oregon's second timeout of the half.
Less than a minute later, the senior guard sank another 3 to make it an 11-point game. A layup from junior center Toni Smith and a jumper from Sheedy during the next couple minutes gave the Bulldogs a 42-27 lead, their largest of the afternoon with 1:44 left in the half.
Oregon closed the half on a 7-2 run, but the Bulldogs took a 44-34 lead at the break after pushing the pace throughout the opening 20 minutes as they forced the Ducks into 10 turnovers resulting in a 16-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
The momentum changed quickly though as less than 30 seconds into the half, Collins picked up her third foul, forcing her back to the bench. The Ducks then went on a 13-4 run to start the half.
With under 12:50 remaining, Oregon brought its deficit to one on a layup from Lexi Bando, but Faulk hit a contested jumper before another turnover at the end by the Ducks. Furr found Faz Davalos running the break and hit the redshirt freshman on a rope under the basket for an easy lay-in.
A jumper from Bando with 9:04 left tied the game for the first time since only 25 seconds had past in the opening half.
With the game at 55-55 with just over eight minutes remaining, the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run. After Oregon's Jillian Allenyne, who led the Ducks with 26 points and 16 rebounds, made it a four-point game with a tip-in, Furr knocked down a big step-back 3-pointer with 4:21 remaining to push the lead back to seven. On the ensuing inbound pass, Fresno State forced a loose ball that was tracked down by a diving Rovetti before a timeout was called.
Sheedy got position in the paint out the break and laid an easy bucket in. At the other end, Rovetti came up with another key play by taking a charge on Bando as she was trying to drive to the basket. Sheedy made a layup on the next possession as the `Dogs took a 68-57 lead with 2:46 on the clock.
Fresno State ended the game shooting 25-of-53 (47.2 percent) from the field and 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from beyond the arc. After allowing the Ducks to shoot 53.8 percent from the field in the first half, the `Dogs suffocated them in the second half, holding them to 28.6 percent. Fresno State held a 38-30 advantage on the glass as Faz Davalos led the team with eight and Sheedy chipped in six. The Bulldogs also turned 14 Oregon turnovers into 22 points compared to the Ducks which only scored three points off of 17 Fresno State turnovers.
The Bulldogs will take the next week and a half off before opening conference play on Dec. 31 as they host New Mexico at 2 p.m., PT. Prior to the game, Fresno State will honor its 2014 Mountain West Tournament Championship with a ring ceremony and banner unveiling.
"Be Bold" - ESPN2 790 AM is the home of the Fresno State women's basketball team.
