Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
17-5 (9-2MW)
UNLV
9-13 (4-8MW)
`Dogs Drop Heartbreaker to UNLV in Overtime, 73-70
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - For the second game in a row, the Fresno State women's basketball team lost a nail-biter, falling to 73-70 to UNLV in overtime on Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs fell to 17-5 overall and 9-2 in the Mountain West after dropping its first overtime game since Nov. 18, 2011 at Pepperdine.
With just under four seconds remaining and trailing by three, Mountain West leading scorer Danielle Miller, who finished with a game-high 22 points, sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lady Rebels life. The road team opened up overtime with an 8-0 run and kept a sizable lead through the opening minutes.
Trailing 69-61 with 37 seconds to play, Shauqunna Collins, who led the team with 15 points, and Alex Furr tried to shoot the 'Dogs back into the game. Collins dropped a 3 to cut the deficit to five. After Miller went one-of-two from the line, Collins hit another 3 to bring the 'Dogs within three. After Nikki Wheatley missed one-of-two, Furr knocked down a 3-pointer with seven seconds left. Miller was fouled again and went to the line where she hit both free throws to extend the lead to three. With four seconds to go, Collins got the ball to Furr who put up a 3 at the buzzer, but it fell just short.
Despite forcing 30 turnovers, with 20 coming by way of steals, the Bulldogs struggled slow down the Lady Rebels on the glass as UNLV and a 51-42 advantage on the glass and came up with timely rebounds. UNLV also held a seven percent edge from the field.
"It wasn't the turnout that we wanted," head coach Jaime White said. "I felt like our intensity on defense was a little bit suspect, and to be honest, our rebounding wasn't there and we didn't give ourselves a chance to win. We forced 30 turnovers, and that was a great job, but we didn't create the transition points that we've had in the past and that hurt us a little bit."
The loss snapped a 17-game win streak at the Save Mart Center which dated back to Jan. 15, 2014. With Colorado State's loss at New Mexico tonight, the Bulldogs remain a half game up on both teams for first place in the Mountain West race.
'The Dogs face a daunting road swing beginning this weekend at fourth-place Boise State on Feb. 14, before heading to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State on Feb. 18.
UNLV opened up the game with a 9-2 run, but the Bulldogs fought their way back, taking their first lead of the game at 16-14 with 8:29 on the clock. With the lead hovering below five points for the next few minutes, the Lady Rebels were able to pull the game even with 4:51 to go after a pair at the line from Wheatley.
Senior forward Alex Sheedy followed with a layup to reclaim the lead. Senior guard Raven Fox then turned over Miller and took the ball the other way for a layup. Sheedy again added two more in the paint before junior forward Moriah Faulk hit an open 3 after a cross court pass with 2:15 left in the half.
The Lady Rebels quickly cut the deficit before half, getting a layup from Amie Callaway, and off of a missed 3-pointer from Sheedy, Miller was able to knocked down 3 as the 'Dogs took a 31-27 lead into the half.
UNLV was able to pull the game even once again at 36-36 just under five minutes into the second half. With the game tied at 38-38 with 13:51 on the clock, the Lady Rebels put together spurt with four points coming from Callaway in the paint and three from Miller.
Still trailing by eight with under eight minutes to play, Furr, who missed the first half due to an injury she sustained during the week leading up to the game, sank a deep 3-pointer. That was followed by buckets from Sheedy and Faulk to pull Fresno State back within one at 50-49 with 6:15 to play.
The Bulldogs finally regained the lead on after Fox again stole the ball form Miller and took it in for a layup as the 'Dogs led 57-56 with 1:21 to go. Redshirt freshman Bego Faz Davalos was sent to the line with the 13 seconds to go. After missing on the first of the one-and-one, the center caused enough of a disruption as UNLV knocked the rebound out of bounds. Sheedy was sent to the line after the ball was inbounded and the senior sank both shots.
But with four seconds remaining, Miller tied up the game with a 3 from the top of the key to send the game into overtime.
"Be Bold" - ESPN2 790 AM is the home of the Fresno State women's basketball team.
