Fresno State Athletics
Second-half comeback pushes 'Dogs past Nevada 65-56
2/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By: Travis Blanshan
tblanshan@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Overcoming a five-point halftime deficit during an eight-minute scoreless stretch in the second quarter, Fresno State used a 10-0 run to close the third quarter on its way to defeat Nevada 65-56 on Sunday afternoon at the Save Mart Center.
Hosting its annual Pink Out game, Fresno State (14-9, 10-2 MW) had three players finish in double figures as senior guard Alex Furr led the scoring charge with 14 points, hitting three 3-pointers and sinking five free throws. Senior forward Toni Smith finished with 13 points and six rebounds, and sophomore center Bego Faz Davalos notched her league-leading 12th double-double of the season chipping in 11 points and corralling a game-high 10 rebounds to go with nine blocks and five assists.
Nevada (4-19, 3-9 MW) was led in scoring by Nyasha Lesure with 15 points and Stephanie Schmid added 10 points. Kelsey Kaelin nearly notched a double-double as the senior guard scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.
After an even first five-and-a-half minutes of play that saw the game tied at nine apiece, the Bulldogs closed out the first quarter on an 8-2 run getting four field goals from four different 'Dogs to take 17-11 lead after the first quarter.
A pair of free throws from Smith pushed Fresno State's lead to 21-14 with 9:01 to play in the first half before a 17-0 run by the Wolf Pack spanning more than eight minutes pushed the visitors ahead 31-21. The 'Dogs missed seven field goals in the stretch, while Nevada converted 7-of-12 field goals and knocked down two free throws in that span.
Moriah Faulk ended the Bulldogs' long scoreless drought with a 3-pointer from the left corner and a layup from Shauqunna Collins at the end of the half narrowed the margin to 31-26 in favor of Nevada.
After another driving layup to the right from Collins tied the game at 35, Nevada answered with two quick layups to go back up four with 3:40 to play in the third quarter. Finding some defensive pressure of their own, the Bulldogs held Nevada scoreless the rest of the frame closing out the quarter on a 10-0 run to take 45-39 lead into the fourth. Furr scored six straight points in the run that was capped by layup at the buzzer by Collins.
"We re-evaluated some things and there were some things we did well," said head coach Jaime White on the 'Dogs overcoming halftime deficit. "We just had to get back to playing defense the way we can. I thought we had great senior leadership from Alex Furr and Shauqunna Collins. Furr hit a big 3-pointer, Collins got to the rim and some of those things that bothered them a little bit and that was nice to see. We rebounded a little better in the second half and that was a big part of it."
The final 10 minutes belonged to the Bulldogs as Faz Davalos scored seven points in the frame and her jumper with 1:12 left pushed the 'Dogs lead to 10 (61-51). A 3-pointer from Nevada's Halie Bergman brought the Wolf Pack back within seven, but a three-point play from Smith extended Fresno State's lead to 11 to seal the win.
The Bulldogs shot 44 percent (25-57) from the field and knocked down 11-of-15 (.733) from the free throw line. The 'Dogs held Nevada to 35 percent (20-58) from the field and had a 17-8 advantage in points off turnovers and 17-11 in bench scoring.
Fresno State returns to action on Wednesday hosting the Wyoming Cowgirls at the Save Mart Center at 7 p.m. for Faculty and Staff Night.
Be Bold" - The official home of the Fresno State women's basketball team is 790ESPN "The Deuce".
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