The ‘Mayhem’ era is off to a great start with the Fresno State (3-0) women’s basketball team defeating Seattle University on Tuesday night 78 to 53.
Alaska Anchorage transfers Emilia Long and Ashlyn Rean combined for 40 points on 70% shooting from the field. The coach they followed from Alaska to Fresno isn’t surprised.
“They’re proving there’s not a big difference from an elite Division II player to a mid-major player,” Head Coach Ryan McCarthy said after the game.
Fresno State shot 51.6% from the field as a team and outrebounded the Redhawks 31-23 in the victory.
Key Players
- Emilia Long (FS): 21 points (10-14 FG), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal.
- Ashlyn Rean (FS): 19 points (9-13), 7 rebounds, 1 steal.
- Tamia Stricklin (SEA): 9 points (3-6), 5 rebounds, 1 steal.
What happened
Emilia Long does a lot of the things for the Bulldog basketball team, which was very apparent early in the first quarter on Tuesday night.
“Millie’s an elite athlete, and she’s grown into a really good basketball player,” McCarthy said.
The 5’9 point guard from Port Angeles, Washington opened the game with a jumper, then proceeded to block a shot at the other end. A few minutes later, Long maneuvered through the key for a layup over two Redhawk defenders. She then nailed a three-pointer at the top of the key on the next possession, giving the ‘Dogs an 11-2 lead and forcing a Seattle timeout.
“It wasn’t my best game defensively,” Long said. “it was nice to hit some shots early on, like if you hit that first shot, then you can get things going pretty easily.”
Fresno State extended its lead to 24-10 thanks to forcing a pair of turnovers and a pair of layups from forward Avery Watkins. Forward Ashlyn Rean capped off the 26-12 quarter with a layup.
Long was quite active again in the second, sparking a 16-5 run, offensively and defensively. She finished the half with 13 points, on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.
Rean added 10 points and four rebounds as well to give the ‘Dogs a 44-25 lead. The Redhawks were led by Jana Vesic, who scored seven points off the bench.
The Bulldogs started out cold in the second half, allowing Seattle to open with a 7-2 run. The ‘Dogs responded with a 16-3 run to close the third quarter, leading 62-35.
Seattle started out hot again in the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run, including four points from Ella Brubaker (finished with 8 points).
Despite holding a 20+ lead for most of the second half, McCarthy didn’t let off the gas pedal.
“Whether you’re up by 30 or down by 30, you know, I just think of staying in that process mindset. You know that it is a process, and it is about growth,” McCarthy said.
His players have responded well to having a passionate coach.
“It gets us going, it lights a fire under us to never get comfortable. It doesn’t matter what the score is. We have a standard that we have to reach every day, and if we don’t hit that standard, then it’s just not good enough,” Long said. “It’s a growth mindset.”
The Bulldogs went on to win 78-53.
What’s Next
The Bulldogs will be on the road for nearly a month before hosting Pepperdine on Dec. 6 at the Save Mart Center.
In the meantime, McCarthy’s squad will face at least five teams including Brigham Young University, Washington and Santa Clara.
“We’re going to play some really, really good basketball teams, and it’s going to be a good challenge,” McCarthy said. “The road sometimes can be an advantage. You get to control sleep patterns, you get to control what they eat. You get to control their social life. We want to come into this road trip, going in as one team, and regardless of whatever the outcome is in those three contests, to come out on the other end is a better basketball team.”
Step one is facing BYU this Saturday, with tipoff at 1 p.m.