The Fresno State women’s basketball team (13-13) improved to 7-8 in conference play on Feb. 11 after a 75-69 win against Boise State University (19-6), snapping their nine game win streak.
The Broncos are one of the premier teams in the Mountain West (3rd place overall) and rank highly in different offensive categories, so the Bulldogs were due for a challenging night. Head Coach Ryan McCarthy thought the Bulldogs rose to the occasion.
“Not only is Boise State the top offensive team, they’re the hottest team—they won nine in a row in this league. To take them down like that, that’s a hard thing to do.” McCarthy said.
Guarding a team of that caliber brings physicality on defense, and as a result, Jaisa Gamble—who is a large focal point of the Bulldogs’ defense—battled foul trouble all game. As a result, during the non-Gamble minutes, McCarthy thought the team held up well as he saw some strong production for guard Aloni Oliver.
“I was really proud of Aloni Oliver for coming in and giving us some solid minutes—getting big rebounds and just overall hustle plays—I felt that created momentum for us a little bit,” McCarthy said. “When you get a player that maybe doesn’t play as much, go in there and have a couple big moments, I think that fires everybody up.”
Despite sitting on the sidelines for much of the game, Gamble’s impact was still felt on the court, as she remained vocal on the bench.
“Even when she’s not on the court, she’s always actively helping us out with our intensity, so that helped me a lot to stay focused,” guard Danae Powell said.
Key players
Danae Powell (FS): 22 points, 2 assists, 3 steals
Emilia Long (FS): 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Natalie Pasco (BSU): 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Tatum Thompson (BSU): 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
What happened
The Broncos opened the game scorching hot from the field, going 5-5 from the field and 2-2 from three-point range sparked by their leading scorer guard Tatum Thompson, who had 8 of the Broncos’ 12 points in the opening minutes to earn a 12-5 lead.
However, the Bulldogs’ senior duo of guard Emilia Long and Gamble—who combined for 11 of the ‘Dogs’ 24 first quarter points—helped pave the way for the ‘Dogs to earn a 24-16 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs carried their momentum into the second quarter, primarily on the defensive end, forcing six Bronco turnovers which the ‘Dogs converted into nine points. The Bulldogs also got scoring contributions from seven different players, who combined for 21 points (7-16 fg), with Powell leading the way with seven points as the Bulldogs entered halftime up 45-33.
The Bulldogs opened the third quarter in a rut on offense, going 1-8 in the opening minutes as the Broncos found their groove on offense led by Thompson once again to chip at the 51-47 lead. To add salt to the wound, Gamble entered foul trouble and had to sit out for the remainder of the quarter.
Even with the foul trouble, Long was proud of her leadership on the bench.
“Despite her being on the bench for a lot of the game, she was a very good vocal leader on the bench—always guiding us even when she was out—so we’re proud of her.” Long said.
The Bulldogs’ close the quarter strong as the defense was able to hold up despite the absence of Gamble, but Thompson and Broncos kept the game close with the’Dogs leading 59-55.
The final quarter was tightly contested, but the Bulldogs remained in the driver’s seat due to the well-balanced scoring effort, with six different players contributing to the scoring column, and the stout defense as Gamble was able to close out the game with four personal fouls en route to the 75-69 win.
What’s next
The Bulldogs resume play on a two-game road trip. Their first stop is against Utah State University (6-16)—who are 2-12 in conference play— on Feb. 15 at 12 p.m., and their final stop is against the MW leading San Diego State University (18-4)—who are 12-1 in conference play—on Feb. 21 at 1 p.m.
The Bulldogs are back at the Save Mart Center on Feb. 25 against Grand Canyon University (9-15), who are 8-6 in conference play, at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs look to redeem themselves after the Lopes took home the win in their first meeting on Jan. 10 in a 71-64 loss.
Recap written by and cover photo courtesy of Vincent Ordonio.