SAN JOSE, Calif. – Tied with 2:19 remaining in third, Fresno State was outscored 7-1 to close the period and was unable to close the gap in the fourth, falling 73-66 at San Jose State on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs overcame an 11-point first-quarter deficit before getting outscored 26-20 during the final 11 minutes.
Amaya West scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting for the Bulldogs, knocking down 5-of-9 from 3. The Spartans got 21 points from Jada Holland.
How It Happened
Fresno State struggled early behind heavy pressure from San Jose State leading to seven turnovers in the first five minutes. The result was a 16-5 deficit in less than six minutes. Starting 0-of-6 from the field, the Bulldogs got their first bucket from Franka Wittenberg with 2:51 on the clock. Back-to-back layups from the freshman helped pull the 'Dogs back as they trailed 20-13 after 10 turnovers in the period.
Fresno State kept the deficit to single digits throughout the second twice, getting it down to three following 3-pointers from Keely Brown and Amiee Book. Sabrina Ma's third 3-pointer of the quarter extended the Spartans lead back up to 8 late in the quarter to keep the Bulldogs at bay. Fresno State could only cut two points into the deficit heading into half time, trailing 33-28.
Triples from Amaya West and Yanina Todorova in the opening two minutes twice had the 'Dogs within two, the closest they had been since the start. The Spartans' lead was back up to seven midway through the period before an 8-1 run capped by a corner 3 from Todorova that knotted the game up at 43-all with 3:15 on the clock. Trailing by one with less than 30 seconds in the third, a foul and turnover by the Bulldogs resulted in five points by SJSU to close the quarter.
Fresno State could only trim that deficit to five in the fourth, that coming following a 3-pointer from West with 14 seconds remaining.
Notes
The loss snapped Fresno State's six-game win streak against San Jose State.
The Bulldogs had 20+ turnovers in a game for the fifth time this season. They are 1-4 in those contests.
The 'Dogs were outscored 23-10 on points off turnovers.
Amaya West posted a career-high 25 points. It was her fourth 20-point game this season.
West had a career-high five 3-pointers (5-of-9).
Next Up
Fresno State will close out the regular season on Tuesday against New Mexico at 6 p.m. PT. The program will honor its five seniors prior to tipoff.