FRESNO, Calif – Trailing for more than 36 minutes, a 3-pointer and 15-foot jumper on back-to-back possessions in the final minutes from Amaya West gave Fresno State its first lead of the day in a 58-55 win over Nevada at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs erased a 15-point deficit during the last 16-plus minutes to earn their largest comeback win of the season.
The 3-pointer by West with 2:39 to play not only tied the game at 51-all, the fifth-year senior, who transferred to Fresno State during the summer from Nevada, surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career.
West ended the game with 15 points while Yanina Todorova led the 'Dogs in scoring with 18. They scored 11 each during the final 16:09. Sydney Dethman joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points, with eight of those coming during the last 10-plus minutes.
Victoria Davis led the Wolf Pack with 14 points.
How It Happened
Shooting just 1-of-9 to start the game, the Bulldogs dug an early hole, quickly finding themselves down 15-2 with six minutes into the contest. Back-to-back buckets from Yanina Todorova to close the period got the deficit into single digits. Layups from Keely Brown on the first two possessions of the second brought the 'Dogs within five at 17-12.
While the Bulldogs trailed by five with three minutes left in the half, six unanswered points from Alyssa Jimenez put Fresno State back down 11. Staring down a double-digit deficit at the half, Todorova dropped in a triple in the final seconds to trail 27-19 at the break.
Following a 5-2 start for Nevada in the third, Fresno State head coach Jaime White was whistled for a technical foul. The result was a four-point possession for the Wolf Pack. Despite being down 15, their largest deficit of the game, the Bulldogs were energized. Amaya West knocked down a jumper and then took a charge at the other end and let out a yell. Todorova then hit a triple.
Nevada still led by 13 with seconds remaining in the third before Sydney Dethman got fouled and sank a pair from the stripe with a tick left in the period. The sophomore then added four of the first six in the fourth as Fresno State chopped its deficit down to five at 43-38 with 7:30 to go.
After a layup from Megan Ormiston with 3:49 on the clock gave Nevada a six-point advantage, the Bulldogs called a timeout. Out of the break, Imani Lacy went strong to the basket for an and-1. A miss at the other end was followed by a 3 from West. A missed answer from Nevada turned into a mid-range jumper for West that gave the 'Dogs their first lead of the contest.
Victoria Davis knotted the game up at 53-all with 1:04 to play but an isolation for Todorova allowed the fifth-year senior to get to the bucket to retake the lead for good.
Davis had an opportunity to tie the game at the line with 10 seconds remaining but missed the first of three free throws. West sank two in the final seconds to put Fresno State up 58-55. Nevada was unable to get a final shot attempt off.
Notes
Fresno State earned its first win this season when trailing after any quarter.
The Bulldogs have trailed by 15 or more points in 10 games. Saturday was their first game overcoming a deficit of 15 or more.
The 'Dogs led for just 90 seconds. It was the least amount of time they have led in a win this season. The closest was 30:54 against UC Riverside.
The Bulldogs scored 26 points in the fourth quarter. They have scored 20 or more points in a quarter in eight of their 10 wins.
Fresno State won its third game of the year when being outshot by its opponent (42.6%-37.5%).
Amaya West became the 30th player to score their 1,000th career point as a Bulldog. With 15 points on Saturday, the fifth-year senior has 1,006 in her career. She scored 637 points in four seasons with the Wolf Pack.
Yanina Todorova led the Bulldogs in scoring for the second straight game, registering 18 points.
Sydney Dethman reached double figures for the fourth time this season, scoring 10 points. The 'Dogs are 3-1 when the sophomore center reaches 10 points.
Next Up
Fresno State will get the week off before traveling to San Jose State on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. PT and will air on NBC Sports Bay Area and the Mountain West Network.