Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
14-3, 6-0MW
Wyoming
7-9, 2-4MW
Collins Leads `Dogs to 66-65 Win at Wyoming
1/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
LARAMIE, Wyo. - It took 16 second-half points, and a lay-up with under five seconds to go for junior guard Shauqunna Collins to give Fresno State its first win ever at Wyoming, 66-65, on Saturday afternoon at Arena Auditorium. Collins finished the day with a game-high 26 points and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The win was Fresno State's first-ever win at Wyoming after falling in its previous eight trips.
"The win is important for our confidence, for the team's confidence knowing that they can go into a hard environment and pull out a win when you're down," head coach Jaime White said. "We got down a couple times and I think our kids fought back well. We've had a lot of games where we've had big leads and I think not having the big lead and having to fight every possession was a good challenge for our kids."
Trailing by one with 11 seconds remaining, Collins said she had one mission, "get to the rim as quick as possible and finish."
"I thought `Q' [Collins] got an early rub and Raven [Fox] set the best screen of her life at midcourt. She just gave Q enough room to read what was in front of her, but you still have to make that shot," White said of the play.
With 10 points at the half, Collins completely took over in the second half, driving to the basket at will, scoring with both right and left-handed lay-ups and forcing Wyoming to foul.
Wyoming had one final attempt as Marquelle Dent took the inbound pass nearly the length of the court in 4.9 seconds, but her attempt was off of the back of the rim.
Collins' game outshined 20-point performances from both Dent and Kayla Woodward as the two led the Cowgirls.
"Q was on a mission today," White noted. "We thought we had an advantage in that way, but you only have an advantage if you finish them, and Q just set her mind to it."
As the team's traded baskets early on, senior forward Alex Sheedy hit back-to-back turnaround jumpers, the second from beyond the arc, to give the Bulldogs an 11-8 lead with 14:39 on the clock. The `Dogs managed to build its lead up to five midway through the half, but a 3-pointer from Kayla Woodward sent the Cowgirls on a 12-2 run to grab a 24-19 lead with 6:41 on the clock.
Fresno State continued to try and close the gap, and with 2:47 left on the clock, Collins slipped into the paint with the shot clock winding down and kicked the ball out to a wide open Robin Draper. The senior guard drained the 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to bring the `Dogs within one at 29-28. Less than a minute later, Fresno State grabbed its first lead in seven minutes with a layup from redshirt freshman Bego Faz Davalos. Dent countered with a 3-pointer, which was followed by another layup from Faz Davalos with under a minute left in the half.
Her bucket sent the two teams into the half tied at 32-32. The Bulldogs trailed for nine minutes and 47 seconds in the first half, nearly twice as much as they had trailed in the first five games combined in Mountain West play.
Out of the break, Woodward lined up 3-pointer and sank it to give Wyoming a three-point lead out the break. The Bulldogs countered in a big way as they began to force the issue.
Collins began pushing the pace on the offensive end and driving at will as she led the team to a 10-run. During that stretch, Collins forced three fouls on Dent in the first five minutes of the half. Dent, who had 16 points in the first half for the Cowgirls, was forced to go to the bench with four fouls.
"For me, I just took what the defense was giving me," Collins said of her play on the day. "I felt that my first step was quicker than usual and I when I saw open lanes, I just took it. If they weren't helping in, I was taking it, and even if they were, I was still taking it and finishing."
Despite Wyoming's hot hand heading to the bench, the Cowboys went on an 8-1 run as Woodward knocked down a pair of 3's. A jumper from Jordan Kelley tied up the game at 43-43 with 14:06 remaining.
Fresno State countered with a run of its own with four points each from Collins and Fox to give the `Dogs a 53-47 lead with 10:13 remaining.
The Bulldogs were able to build up a nine-point lead with 4:18 to go, but the 3-pointers kept coming from Wyoming. Kelley knocked one down with 4:02 on the clock, and without a bucket from either team in more than two minutes, Woodward hit her fourth of the game at 1:41 to draw the Cowgirls within three.
A layup from Dent made it a 65-64 game with 1:01 remaining. After Faz Davalos was tagged with an offensive foul with 29 seconds remaining, Dent was able to drive into the lane on the ensuing possession and hit a runner that was just out of Faz Davaolos' reach to put the home team up one with 11 seconds to go.
After back-to-back timeouts were called by Wyoming, Collins took the inbound pass, dribbled the length of the court threw up a lay-in in traffic that dropped. Dent followed with an attempt at the other end, but it was off the mark as the Bulldogs celebrated the 66-65 win.
Aside from Collins' 26, Sheedy was the only other Bulldog in double figures as she had 11 points. Fox and Faz Davalos each added eight points. Faz Davalos, who had 26 blocks in the last five games, added six more as she constantly disrupted Wyoming's inside play. She also led the `Dogs with seven rebounds as Fresno State held a 39-27 advantage on the boards.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Jan. 24 as they head to Reno, Nev., riding a 10-game winning streak. Tipoff against Wolf Pack is slated for 4 p.m., PT and will stream live on the Mountain West Network.
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