FRESNO, Calif. – With its last game before finals week, Fresno State locked in defensively on Sunday afternoon, holding its sixth opponent in 11 games to below 50 points, defeating UC Irvine 53-44 at the Save Mart Center. Attempting 25.5 3-pointers per game, the Bulldogs allowed UCI to shoot just 11 and connect on only three.
While the Bulldogs were stifling the Anteaters around the arc, they were hot on their end, knocking down a season-high 10, shooting 47.6 percent to create a 21-point difference. Nine of those came from Amiee Book (4), Amaya West (3) and Yanina Todorova (2).
West led the 'Dogs with a game-high 19 points. Book chipped in 12 points while Todorova and Sydney Dethman added nine apiece.
How It Happened
Tight through the opening 10 minutes, Amaya West gave the Bulldogs a little breathing room to start the second, knocking down back-to-back 3's in the first minute to put Fresno State up 18-10. Two more from Amiee Book in the period and a 6-0 run in the middle and the Bulldogs' advantage was up to 14 with just under two minutes remaining in the half.
Forcing five turnovers and holding the Anteaters to 3-of-11 in the period, Fresno State used a 22-9 quarter to open up a 15-point lead at the half.
Beating the first-half buzzer with a turnaround jumper, West led off the second half with a 3-pointer to give the 'Dogs their largest lead of the day at 37-19. Hitting the Bulldogs with an active zone, Fresno State scored just seven points during the next 12-plus minutes, as UC Irvine trimmed the deficit to six with seven minutes remaining in the game.
Connecting on just one of their first eight shots in the fourth, Yanina Todorova knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer from the wing with 3:34 on the clock. The Anteaters cut the lead back to seven but Book connected from the same spot to put the game out of reach at 53-43 with two minutes to play.
Notes
Fresno State held its sixth opponent to below 50 points this season. It is tied for the ninth-most in a single season in program history.
UC Irvine was held to 23 points shy of its season scoring average.
The Bulldogs shot at least 40 percent from the field for the fourth straight game.
Fresno State made a season-high 10 3-pointers, shooting 47.6 percent, its second-highest percentage of the season from 3.
Fresno State totaled a season-high 14 assists.
Amaya West scored a game-high 19 points. Ten of West's points came in the Bulldogs 22-9 second quarter.
West collected a team-high six rebounds.
Amiee Book scored in double figures for the fourth straight game with 12 points. All 12 came from behind the 3-point line (4-of-9).
Thea Mikkelsen recorded career highs in assists (3) and steals (3).
Sydney Dethman scored a career-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Next Up
Fresno State returns to the Save Mart Center on Saturday for a doubleheader with the men's team. The women start the afternoon at 1 p.m. PT against Utah Valley. Both games will be televised locally on CW59 and stream on the Mountain West Network.