Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
4-7
Utah
6-3
Bulldogs Downed at Utah, 78-63
12/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
SALT LAKE CITY - A 14-2 run to open the third quarter by Utah all but put the game out of reach as the Utes defeated Fresno State 78-63 on Saturday at the Huntsman Center.
The Bulldogs (4-7) were led by senior Moriah Faulk who posted 15 points, 12 coming in the final quarter. Also in double figures was seniors Shauqunna Collins with 11 and Brittany Aikens with 10. Redshirt sophomore Bego Faz Davalos just missed her sixth double-double of the season as she finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Utah's inside presence is what decided the game as post players Emily Potter and Paige Crozon combined for 39 points and 20 rebounds as both posted double-doubles. The Utes (6-3) held an eight-point advantage in points in the paint and 43-37 edge on the glass.
After the Bulldogs grabbed an early 4-3 lead to open the game, the Utes went a on 14-2 run over a five-plus minute span to take a 17-6 lead. Senior Alex Furr ended the run with a pair of free throws after getting fouled on a drive to right side and
Faulk followed with a 3-pointer in stride to close the quarter.
The 'Dogs continued their run into second, pushing it 9-0 as they closed to within two at 17-15 with four quick points from senior Brittany Aikens.
Utah though continued to go inside to Potter as he she scored three buckets to increase their lead back to six. Aikens countered with a trey at the 6:22 mark to cut the deficit back to 23-20.
A jumper from Faz Davalos with 34 seconds left in the half brought the 'Dogs to within seven before coming up with a big stop to close the half as the Utes took a 34-27 lead into the break. Fresno State shot just 30.8 percent (8-of-26) compared to Utah's 41.9 percent (13-of-31).
Toni Smith made a layup at the 9:22 to open the second half, but that was the last points for the 'Dogs for nearly five minutes as the Utes went on a 12-0 run with eight points coming from Crozon to push their lead to 48-29. Utah continued to push the pace, finishing the quarter on a 6-0 spurt to take its largest lead of the game 58-37.
Fresno State went on 14-7 to open the fourth, cutting its deficit to 14 through the play of Faulk who had 12 fourth quarter points. Fourteen was as close as the 'Dogs would get though until there were only 34 seconds remaining in the game when Faulk made it 76-63 game with her third 3-pointer of the game.
The Bulldogs will be off until Dec. 30 when they host UNLV at the Save Mart Center in their Mountain West opener. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., PT.
"Be Bold" - The official home of the Fresno State women's basketball team is 790ESPN "The Deuce".
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