The Fresno State women’s basketball team (12-13) improved to 6-8 in conference play following a dominant performance in a 71-51 win over the University of Nevada, Reno (12-21) on Feb. 7 at the Save Mart Center.
Despite getting doubled teamed upon tip-off, guard Emilia Long wasn’t phased, with Head Coach Ryan McCarthy noting that it was something he anticipated.
“[Long] is one of the best guards in the league, a lot of what we do goes through her, and I think that teams are going to start to game plan to take her out—which was something that we figured would happen this game.” McCarthy said.
McCarthy added that this was something they prepare for in practice where other players bring the ball up court.
“It was smart on their part to do it and it’s something we definitely spend some time on in practice,” McCarthy said. “[Gamble] brought the ball up the floor quite a bit, [Long] is going to be at the top of people’s list but that didn’t work.”
Key players
Emilia Long (FS): 23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 steals
Jaisa Gamble (FS): 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals
Skylar Durley (UNR): 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
What happened
To open the first quarter, the Wolfpack was aggressive on defense, which opened the game up for others to contribute to the scoring column—like forward Jaisa Gamble, and guards Danae Powell and Ava Marr, who combined for 12 points. In addition to the scoring, the Bulldogs showed out on defense, forcing five Wolfpack turnovers which resulted in eight points to add to the 20-7 lead after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Wolfpack found their footing on offense, led by guard Skylar Durley who scored 6 of the Wolfpacks’ 14 second quarter points. But, the Wolfpack couldn’t contain forward Morelia Chavez—who went 3-4 from the field and 2-3 from deep for a total of eight points. As a result, the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 34-21 advantage.
The third quarter saw both teams trading baskets, as the Bulldogs continued to find open lanes to the rim for 20 paint points and the Wolfpack went on to find the open player for four third quarter assists. But, the Bulldogs’ first quarter scoring output proved to be important as the ‘Dogs maintained the 55-41 lead heading into the final quarter.
To close out the game, the Bulldogs opened the floodgates on offense and tamed the Wolfpack on defense. The Bulldogs held the Wolfpack to 10 points as they went 4-13 (30.8%) from the field in the fourth quarter and in contrast, the ‘Dogs scored 18 points in the quarter and went 6-10 (60%) from the field en route to the 71-51 win.
What’s next
The Bulldogs remain home as they take on a tough matchup against Boise State University (19-5) on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m.
The Broncos are one of the premier teams in the Mountain West (MW), ranking third overall, as they are 10-3 in conference play. The Broncos are also one of the elite offensive teams, averaging 72.1 ppg and are 40% from beyond-the-arc—which is both good for first place in the MW respectively.
Recap written by and cover photo courtesy of Vincent Ordonio (FSM).