The Fresno State women’s basketball team earned their first conference win of the season in a 53-36 victory over the University of Wyoming in a Mountain West Tournament rematch on Dec. 20 at the Save Mart Center.
Last season, the Bulldogs entered the Mountain West Tournament as the sixth seed and made a deep run, but their run was cut short by the Cowgirls in the semi-final round. However, Head Coach Ryan McCarthy treated this game like any other.
“Most girls on the team, I don’t think they’ve been to Laramie or could point it out on a map, so I think for a lot of them they didn’t know any better,” McCarthy said. “Sometimes that’s a good thing when you kind of play with a little bit of naivety.”
For guard Danae Powell, her motivation stems from the season ahead and her new teammates.
“I didn’t get to finish out last season playing against them, but I feel like my motivation was just about this year as a new team,” Powell said. “Especially earlier in the week we didn’t play how we know we can, so this was important for us to come out and win.”
Key players
Danae Powell (FS): 17 points, 7 assists, 2 steals.
Avery Watkins (FS): 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal.
Malene Pedersen (WYO): 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists.
What happened
In the first quarter, both teams were plagued by turnovers, with a combined 12 turnovers partly due to the stout defense played by both teams. However, the Cowgirls would gain the 11-6 edge over the Bulldogs to close out the quarter as a result of their strong passing game—with 4 assists to the ’Dogs’ one.
The Bulldogs opened the second quarter 12-2 scoring run generated by their physicality in the paint with eight paint points and five free throws attempted to earn an 18-13 lead seven minutes into the quarter.
The ‘Dogs end the second quarter with a strong defensive showing, forcing the Cowgirls to operate late into the shot clock, a trend present throughout the second quarter as the Cowgirls were held to two second quarter points en route to the ‘Dogs’ 20-13 halftime lead.
After one half, the Cowgirls were held to 5-20 (25%) from the field, but excelled beyond the arc, going 3-7 (42.9%). The Bulldogs weren’t much better, going 7-23 (30.4%) from the field and 0-6 from three-point range, but they did go 6-9 (66.7%).
The Cowgirls responded in the third quarter with a 12-4 run of their own, sparked by their balanced scoring effort, with four different players contributing to their run and thus gaining the 27-24 lead midway through the quarter.
The Bulldogs find their footing in the late minutes of the quarter to make the game competitive as they survive the Cowgirls’ scoring run with a 31-30 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs rode the third quarter momentum in the early minutes of the fourth quarter with help from Powell and Watkins, who combined for eight points to give the ‘Dogs the 41-30 lead.
To close out the game, the Bulldogs didn’t take their foot off the gas, as they pulled away with the 53-36 win.
What’s next
The Bulldogs continue conference play with two road games: Dec. 31 at 3 p.m. against former Bulldog Mariah Elohim and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Jan. 3 against Colorado State University at noon.
The ‘Dogs return to the Save Mart Center on Jan. 7 in a matchup against San Jose State University at 6:30 p.m.
Story written by Vincent Ordonio, cover photo by Ryan Sepulveda.