Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Bulldogs Drop 75-66 Game at Boise State in Overtime
2/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
BOISE, Idaho - For the second game in a row, Fresno State (17-6, 9-3 MW) was unable to come out of overtime with a win, falling 75-66 at Boise State (16-7, 8-4 MW) on Saturday afternoon. It marked the Bulldogs' third consecutive loss as they drop a half game behind Colorado State and New Mexico in the Mountain West race.
Senior center Toni Smith produced a career-high 19 points to go with eight rebounds, but her counterpart inside, Miquelle Askew, led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field and grabbed six rebounds. The Broncos held decided advantages form the field, shooting 50 percent (22-of-44) compared to the Bulldogs' 36.9 percent (24-of-65), and from the free throw line as they hit 28-of-41 while Fresno State was 11-of-18.
Redshirt freshman center Bego Faz Davalos would finish the game with four blocks, giving her 55 through 12 conference games, breaking the Mountain West single-season record for blocks in conference. Paris Johnson of San Diego State previously held the record with 52.
The 'Dogs will continue their two-game road stretch on Feb. 18 as they travel to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m., PT and will air on the Mountain West Network.
Early foul trouble plagued the 'Dogs as Alex Sheedy picked up two fouls less than three minutes into the game. Less than three minutes later, Raven Fox went to the bench with her second foul.
After trailing 8-2 early, and with two starters on the bench, the Bulldogs were able to run out to a 17-11 lead with 7:57 left in the first half. Alex Furr drained back-to-back 3s to cap the run that forced Boise State to call a timeout.
BSU then countered though with an 11-0 spurt during the ensuing five minutes to take a 22-17 lead with under two minutes remaining in the half. Smith scored on a layup with 1:46 to go, and after turnover and a missed shot on the Broncos' next two possessions, Furr hit her third 3-pointer of the half to tie the game at 22-22 heading into the half.
Trading buckets early in the second half, Boise State took a 29-27 lead at 15:58 on back-to-back jumpers from Yaiza Rodriguez. The 'Dogs then went on a 12-3 run that saw Fox score six points and Stephanie Rovetti force a turnover and knock down a 3 as Fresno State took a 39-32 lead with 10:27 to go.
Another run was still in the Broncos as a 3-pointer from Kenna McDavis with 8:28 ignited a 12-3 of their own as they went up 50-46 with 3:45 to play. A three-point play from Smith helped change momentum though.
Junior Moriah Faulk came to life in the final minutes of regulation as she began attacking the basket. Faulk hit two from the line to give the 'Dogs a 51-50 lead with 2:38 before BSU again tied the game. On the following possession, Faulk forced her way through two defenders and laid it in while getting fouled. She finished the and-one as Fresno State took a three-point lead.
Boise State was able to pull two points back through Rodriguez from the line. Smith brought the lead back to three with a bucket in the paint, but Askew responded at the other end. After Faulk missed a jumper on the 'Dogs next possession, the Broncos took a one-point lead with 16 seconds left as Askew got into the paint once again. With 4.2 seconds remaining, Faulk again drove hard to the bucket and where she was fouled. The junior connected on the first, but was unable to hit the second as the two sides headed into overtime for the second time in as many games in Boise.
Similar to Wednesday's overtime against UNLV, it was the Bulldogs' opponent which raced out to big lead. The Broncos opened the extra period with seven unanswered points before Fresno State got back-to-back field goals from Faz Davalos and Furr which cut the deficit to three. That was as close as the 'Dogs would get as they were called for nine fouls during the final two minutes and 30 seconds and BSU converted 11-of-16 from the foul line to close out the game.
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