Fresno State clamps down on defense, eases past Air Force 64-48

Monday, January 29

Fresno, Calif.

7 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Air Force

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Fresno State clamps down on defense, eases past Air Force 64-48

1/29/2018 10:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The Bulldogs limited the Falcons to 20-of-53 shooting overall and just 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the win.

By: Josh Mitchell / Assistant Director of Communications

FRESNO, Calif. – With Fresno State and Air Force playing their third game in six games, the Bulldogs jumped out as the aggressors in each half on Monday night, outscoring the Falcons by a combined 23 points in the two quarters aid them in a 64-48 win at the Save Mart Center.
Shooting over 50 percent from the field (23-of-44, 53.2 percent) for only the second time this season, the Bulldogs also held the Falcons 37.3 percent from the field and just 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from 3. The Bulldogs were led at both end of the floor by freshman point guard Aly Gamez who totaled 15 points, and set season-highs of five assists and seven steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bulldogs came out hot on offense in the opening quarter, dropping 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Midway through the quarter, Fresno State went on a 10-0 run that was capped by back-to-back 3's from Breanne Knishka and Gamez to open up its lead. The 'Dogs held Air Force to just 12 points on 5-of-16 from the floor in the opening 10 minutes to take a 22-12 lead after one.

Neither team could get much going on the offensive end in the second quarter. The Falcons duplicated their first quarter output of 12 points while the Bulldogs managed just nine points on 36.4 percent shooting in the frame. Gamez led the way with eight points and four assists in the first half as Fresno State held a 31-24 advantage heading into the locker room.

The 'Dogs were on fire in the third quarter as they poured in 7-of-10 from the field and hit on both of their 3-point attempts. Gamez (7 points) and Maddi Utti (4 points) kick-started the period with an 11-0 spurt to extend the Bulldogs' advantage to 18. As good as the offense was, the defense stole the show in the third as Air Force mustered only six points on 3-of-11 shooting. Fresno State outscored the Falcons 19-6 in the period and led 50-30 going into the fourth.

The Air Force offense got going in the final quarter but it was a little too late as the Bulldogs went onto win by a score of 64-48 to move to 6-4 in conference play and pull into a tie for fourth in the league standings.

TEAM NOTES
- The 58.3 percent from 3 (7of-12) was the highest 3-point percentage for the 'Dogs with at least 10 attempts since knocking down 58.3 percent (7-of-12) at CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 3, 2013.
- It was the first time since the season opener that Fresno State shot over 50 percent from 3 in a game.
-Air Force was the second Bulldog opponent to be held below 10 percent from 3 (8.3 percent, 1-of-12) this season. The 8.3 percent was the second-lowest percentage behind Utah State which the Bulldogs held to 6.7 percent (1-of-15) on Jan. 3.
- The Bulldogs held the Falcons to six points in the third quarter, the second-lowest point total for an opponent in a quarter this season. Colorado State was held to five in the second quarter on Jan. 6.
- Fresno State moves to 8-0 this season when its starters outscore its opponents (41-32).

PLAYER NOTES
Aly Gamez – 15 points, 7 steals, 5 assists
- First player to record seven steals in a game since Moriah Faulk on Feb. 24, 2016 at Air Force.
- Third time being perfect from the 3-point line (3-of-3), second in last three games.
- Season-high five assists.

Maddi Utti – 11 points, 6 rebounds
- 11^th game in doubles figures this season.
- Posted second-highest shooting percentage of the season (83.3 percent, 5-of-6).

QUOTES
Head Coach Jaime White on coming out with a purpose…
"That was the goal and I thought we did a good job of getting out in transition. I don't think it was perfect, but we had some big shots and some good pressing that led to some easy buckets."

On Aly Gamez…
"She has a good motor. She is always working hard on both ends of the floor. Great players do that. She was playing great defense and had a couple of steals but she got into foul trouble early so I was a little worried about that but I thought we did a pretty good job at rotating her and Candice (White) at the point."

On Katelin Noyer…
"She doesn't play a lot. Sometimes for a tall kid, it is hard to play against those smaller players that are a little bit quicker. We want her to get some minutes in there and I thought she did a great job with it."

On facing Nevada…
"They are coming off of a bye so we will see how game-ready they are. We know we are game-ready. Hopefully that works to our advantage. Right now we are just taking one game at a time and making the magic happen."

Aly Gamez on her experience at Fresno State…
"Coming into Fresno State, I didn't know if I was going to play a lot. I knew I was going to have to fight for my spot so starting a lot of these games definitely exceeds my expectations."

NEXT UP
Fresno State welcomes Nevada to the Save Mart Center on Wednesday night. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.

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